Power
by Riasha
Summary: Kagome is saved by Sesshoumaru. A revelation will cause them to become closer, and Kagome's power is growing. Kagome falls in love with Sesshoumaru, but her power is devastating her.
1. Damn Inuyasha

**Sesshoumaru**

**BY: RyuuAngel aka: Riasha**

Power  
Authors note: This is a spoiler! If you have only seen the anime, read at your own risk. I keep up to date on the Manga because of the awesome translator Chris Rijk. He has the Manga in English at:  


Well, this is my first fanfic ever to be downloaded, so go easy on me! I'm trying, k? I am absolutely horrible at lemons so my lemon is sour. I'm not going to write many of those. Eventually I plan to come out with a trilogy of my own. Maybe I'll make an IY series or something too if I can think of a good story that won't seem drawn out. This is rated R so if your not over the age of 14, I don't suggest reading this. This is a long shot fic, it's not hard to understand I don't think, but you can judge that for yourselves. Sorry if my writing style is inconsistent, I write depending on my mood so the fic will change with it.

Have fun! Hope you Enjoy! ï 


	2. Sesshoumaru Evil or not?

**Chapter 2: Sesshoumaru, Evil or Not?**

"Hentai!" Kagome screamed at Sesshou. A hand was firmly grasping her bottom and she wasn't too comfy with it!! She pushed against him, trying wildly to get free. She realized it was futile against his strength and stopped at the sound of his voice.

"If you struggle you will fall." She looked down and found out what he was talking about. They were on a cloud, hundreds of feet in the air!! Oh Kami, she had to get down from here; man she was dizzy! Something forced itself to the front of her mind, namely a strayed hand.

"Get your hand off my butt, Fluffy!" She screamed at him. Satisfaction filled her as he winced from her scream because of sensitive ears. Now where in the world did she get Fluffy from...?

"Don't yell and address me properly, human." He growled back at her. She ground her teeth together as his hand moved a little to get a better grasp.

"Oh Great Sesshoumaru-sama, could you please remove your hand from my ass!" She demanded contemptuously, but in a much lower voice. The look on his face told her that was much better, him not having read the sarcasm in her words. That was actually how people equal to him addressed him in his castle. Anyone below him called him, '_lord_ Sesshoumaru-sama', but he figured that was pretty good for a human considering most of them didn't have any manners.

"This youkai will never understand why it matters where a humans body is touched. What's the difference between whether my hand is on your bottom or you back?" It was an honestly open question she could not avoid. How was she supposed to explain this? And why was his hand still on her ass!

"I... well. The difference is that... you rear is where your spinal cord ends and... there are many nerve endings that make it... sensitive." She finished lamely. Phew, that wasn't so hard. Now if only he would...

She gasped in surprise when she felt a finger brush her bra line.

"And what about this area? Males don't seem bothered by touches in this area, why are females?" He questioned her. She almost thought she saw amusement in his eyes but was not sure. Was he mocking her?

"Because it..." She didn't get to finish because her voice wouldn't work. All she could feel was the sensation he was causing deep inside of her. That hand was making some unknown feeling surface within her. The skin of her breast was tingling because of his gentle touch. He was being very delicate with her, keeping in mind her mortalness. Lightning shot up her spine and she wiggled trying to arch into his touch. He suddenly stopped and she stayed rigid in his arms before summoning her courage to answer his question in the only way she could think of. He dropped her legs carefully to let her stand on the cloud, but kept a hold on her.

She took a deep breath. "This is the reason why." She said and placed and hand on his flatly muscled chest. 'He is going to slice me open for this,' she thought, but knew in her heart he wouldn't. Her fingers slowly traced a design lower and lower until she felt her fingers stopped by something clearly hard. And large, Very large. She heard his intake of breath when she enclosed it in her hand. She ran her fingers up and down it when he suddenly grabbed her wrist. She let go of his obvious erection in surprise and shifted her eyes to his. There was some form of anger in them, as well as the glaze of wanting. He looked confused and respectful of her boldness to do such a thing to him.

"That's why." She looked steadily into his gaze. Damn, she knew they were attracted to each other, she never realized just how much. But, then again, how could a human hating Youkai rescue a human, never mind let her live when she could see his thoughts.

He was so curious about this girl. He had been from the moment he had seen into her conscious.

"Is that all you wanted to know? Cause I really need to get home, please." Her mother had told her that they would be gone for a while and to check on the house every so often. All she had to do was do some of her laundry, sweep the shrine steps and feed the cat. If worst came to worst Buyo could stand to lose a few pounds and he could catch some mice. But she really wanted to get home in case IY tried to come and get her when he was done with kik. Or better yet, maybe she didn't. When he came, (like he always did. He had to have his Tama detector) they would probably fight and she wanted to put that off for now.

"You will stay at the castle?" He asked her. She broke out of her thoughts to gaze at him in wonder. How did he... Oh! Their unconscious bond, that was the only way he would have been able to know what he was thinking. She smiled at him gratefully.

"A, Arigatou." She stammered. He just lifted his chin higher, IY's equivalent to 'Feh". Or that was her conception of it. Out of nowhere his lips came down on hers and she gasped in surprise. She held still for moments while his lips explored hers, so delicately, yet so sensually. He suddenly broke off the kiss and stared ahead after brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Look," He told her and she obeyed, turning her face to see what for him was straight ahead.

"WOW!" was the only word that would make it to her lips because of the beautiful sight before her.


	3. In the Great Castle

Chapter 3: In the Great Castle 

The castle, which must have been the nicest in the area, just about glittered. It was exactly how she imagined a hero/fairytale prince's castle should look. Any moment Kagome expected to see white horses with knights in armor to come riding out.

"This is Sesshoumaru's home." He stated. He had expected her reaction to the castle; Rin had done something similar, except in Rin's style.

"It's beautiful." She found herself being picked up once again by strong arms and linked her fingers around his neck out of habit. "What, am I not able to walk anymore?"she said in consternation. He scowled down at her.

"From what I had seen you seemed to enjoy being carried by a mutt. Sesshoumaru thought you might enjoy the privilege." She blushed slightly, but was a little confused.

"But I thought you hated humans? You said that their smell and they themselves disgusted you." She was surprised when he brought his face down and inhaled a deep breath, his nose close to her neck.

"You are the only human that's smell has ever not repulsed me. It is a sweet smell." Immediately she thought of the first time IY had complimented her smell, during the Shingetsu. "Also, you are no ordinary human. You are a most powerful miko. Inuyasha will never appreciate you, Kagome." Was she hearing things? Did he just say her name? She decided not to say anything about it, a piece of wisdom she had learned from dealing with IY. SO deep in thought was she that she was surprised to find herself at the castle door. He let go of her legs and stood her up. He opened the door for her and she mutely walked in. (AN: Yes Sesshy has manners unless, of course, you offend him or he is trying to kill you.) Her stomach let out a rumble completely out of the blue. She blushed in embarrassment and he once again looked slightly amused.

"Perhaps we should dine?" HE suggested.

"Hai, that sounds good to me." She said shyly. She caught a glimpse of the sun setting on the fringe of the Western lands, and then the door shut. With the sun was also any sign of her, gone. It was like she and Sesshoumaru hadn't even been there.

Kagome watched the play of shadows across the ceiling of the chamber in which she was residing. She was lying on a feather bed, which was positioned on the floor. Not in the air like the beds in her time, that's how all the beds in the Sengoku Jidai were. It had been a couple of days since she had first arrived and she was starting to get bored. Sesshoumaru was always so cold to her even though Rin was almost cute enough and hyper enough to make up for it. What Kagome really missed was her family. She hadn't seen them in 1 week now and the miss for them was slowly building to an ache. She was about to see if Sesshoumaru would let her leave. Then she started. Her parents were still on vacation! They had left on Friday and now it was only Tuesday. They would be back early Friday morning.

It wasn't bad here, not at all; she was actually pretty comfortable. Every night there was a sleeping gown on the bed after dinner and every morning when she awoke there was a new beautifully decorated gown for her to wear. Everything was comfortable and of the finest quality. There were servants all over the place she knew but the only one she had ever seen was Jaken. The food was delicious and was served with the best china. There was no such thing as forks and the like but Kagome was never that bad with chopsticks. No, she could definitely get along here; she just wanted to see her family.

She couldn't sleep for some odd reason. She rolled over a few times and tried counting things. She had counted 100 sheep, 100 horses and 100 demons. Nope, she wasn't going to be able to sleep. Sesshoumaru had said she could go wherever she wanted in the castle grounds, so she decided to take a walk. She slipped out from under the covers and was immediately grateful the gown was a heavy material and swept down to her toes, for there was a breeze through the well-aired castle. It wasn't _cold_ in here, just not warm either. She slipped on her shoes and carefully opened the door. Peeking out, she sighed in relief to find no one in the halls. She strode into the deserted hall, the jewel shards around her neck glinting in the moonlight whenever she went past a window.

As she continued down the hall she could feel eyes watching her, the one thing she hated about the servants. She stopped in the middle of the hall; she needed directions to the garden. She hoped if she sat and stared at the waning moon long enough, she might be able to calm enough to sleep. She closed her eyes and put a hand over the jewel shard to gather her courage.

"Hello, Is anyone there?" She felt a stir but none answered. "Please, come out for a second, I really need directions." She let a fleeting smile light her face. "I promise I won't bite, and I'll make sure there's no prob with Sesshoumaru." She promised. After many minutes, she had just about given up; a timid low level youkai female stepped forward.

"Where do you need to go?" She said shakily, her eyes darting around like she expected any second to be punished.

"To the gardens please. Thank you." Kagome smiled again.

"Go straight down the hall, it is the fourth door on the right." The youkai then disappeared back into the shadows.

Kagome sighed. The hall looked miles long instead of a couple hundred feet. She started off down the hall. On and on and on she went down the hallway. Finally she reached the fourth door on the right, the last one on the right in the hall. There was also a door right in front of her, was this the West Wing Rin had told her of? Where Sesshoumaru lived, slept? Erotic thoughts floated through her mind and she firmly pushed them out, with more than a little embarrassment. She had the sudden urge to see if they were his rooms and couldn't stifle it. She carefully opened the door in front of her instead of the one on her right. She pocked her head in, expecting to get it sliced off.

"Sesshoumaru?" She called in a voice he would be sure to hear, but not loud enough to annoy him. What exactly was she going to say to him if he was there? 'Hey Sesshy-chan, I'm secretly in love with you and couldn't resist the urge to see if these were your chambers. Hope ya don't mind.' Yeah right! Although those daydreams she had been having lately were pretty interesting... She scanned the room and was about to decide there was no one there. Oh well.

She was caught by surprise when she felt his presence behind her. She yanked her head out of his doorway and turned to see the one she sought behind her.

"Are you lost?" Icy, Cold. His eyes were slightly afire. Apparently he didn't take kindly to people snooping in his chambers. Though she supposed she wouldn't be too happy with it either.

"No, uh, Sorry. I was looking for you." She was nervous, his thoughts might be closed to her but his emotions weren't. And he wasn't exactly happy.

"Why did you come down here?" His voice held daggers. Well, she knew better then to do this again.

"I, uh... Rin said one day this was where you..." She was made to cut short as her voice left her when he took a menacing step toward her. She was bothered to realize he wasn't using his usual mannerisms; he was speaking in a very harsh speech.

"So you thought you'd just invite yourself to my private chambers and work your magic on me?" He growled...a touch of sarcasm in his words.

"Huh?" was all she could manage. Magic? What in the world?

"Don't play stupid, it doesn't suit you." His flashing golden eyes narrowed. "It will not work, I am too strong and in control to submit to your charming magic."

Charming magic? Oh dear Kami, Sess had never been attracted to anyone before. He thinks I'm magicking him. So wait, he's attracted to me? She bushed bright red at the thought. She jumped when a claw lightly pushed a lock of her out of her face to behind her ear.

"I wonder what kind of charms I might possess." He said it softly, barely loud enough for her to hear him. "What?!" she whispered as his lips met hers in her second kiss ever. It was exploratory not passionate, but not cold either. And it made her go weak in the knees. He felt this and hardly suppressing a smile he put his left arm around her, pulling her close. The other went into her hair to apply delicious pressure, deepening the kiss. Kagome felt as though she would melt right into a blob. He pulled back and gave her a slightly wicked smile. Wait, he SMILED?

"Apparently I do possess some charms, though I doubt they are as dubious as yours." Kagome never really registered what he said; otherwise she would have been asking what he meant by that. His left hand still held them close and his right hand was running sharp claws through her hair, gentle.

"Sesshou-chan, how is it that I can feel your emotions and some of your thoughts?" His hand momentarily stopped running through her silky raven hair. Damn, he had known she could still see his emotions, but he thought that he had effectively covered all his thoughts. Well, maybe not. Was it because of her powerful aura, which was quite strong, especially for a human?

"Do you remember the day of our first meeting? When I was trying to get the Tetsusaiga? When you pulled the sword out after my brother and my failures, I was, in the least to say, curious. You did not seem to be a demon, yet not an ordinary human either." He paused for a moment when he felt her ready to ask a question.

"What makes me not an ordinary human?" She was ever so slightly sarcastic. He sighed patiently.

"Your aura. You didn't seem to be afraid of me and your aura is too powerful for that of a human. Your soul is the largest, strongest one I have ever seen." She warmed and a blush lit her features. "That day you stood there with that sword, it made me wonder... so I looked into your conscious."

"You can read minds?!" She asked incrediculously.

"Hai and when I read yours you somehow saw into mine, and when you did you attained that power for reasons which are unknown to me. That is only my guess." She looked awed for a moment then blushed brightly.

Oh my god, how many times had he caught her thinking about IY? Thinking about him! She thought she might love him, in the middle of this messed up capture. So he would know exactly how she felt about him. Her blush was crimson by now.

She was so beautiful when she is embarrassed. It made something in his gut clench to see her like that. He hoped that she would always smile at him like that. He did know exactly how she felt about him. He was more than surprised when he felt more warmth toward him than his brother. He thought she loved his brother, why were those feeling now directed toward him? His feelings for her were undeniable, but he kept her shut out, not wanting to seem weak. Loving a human was despicable and yet here he was falling for a human girl. Looking at her blushing face made him realize how much he wanted her. He was fighting an internal battle and he suddenly went down to kiss her, this kiss much more passionate and grating on her lips.

She was surprised at first when he had suddenly kissed her like that. Sure she'd dreamed about him kissing her like this, but still she wondered. What had made him suddenly so possessive? She was surprised yet again when he picked her up.

"What are you doing?" She asked, wide eyed.

"I'm taking you to my bed."


	4. The Sack and Rin Kidnapped

Chapter 4: The Sack and Rin kidnapped 

Inuyasha had been searching all over for that stupid girl. He refused to believe she might be dead. She was a survivor. In their worst moments she had managed to survive, in circumstances that should have killed her. Many times over he had agonized over her safety. Like the time he had been so worried he had sent her back to her time to stop her from being harmed and yet she had come back again. It seemed fate had a plan for them and yet he could not believe that it's purpose had already been served. She couldn't be dead; She wasn't dead, no way. The sun was setting on his desperate search and he knew it. He growled deep in his throat as he tried and failed yet again to pick up her sweet scent.

"Damn it Kagome! Where are you, bitch?" He hung his head. "Please be alive... Please." He whispered an unheard plea to ears that at the moment were not listening. Only the wind heard his whispered words and carried them away.

Sesshou carefully laid her o his bed. He leaned down to kiss her and she lifted her face to receive it. Her eager responses to him were driving him crazy with need. He slowly ripped the top of her gown with a careful claw. She looked surprised but didn't stop him. He traced a line from her jaw to the tip of her right breast. She inhaled sharply and he took her nipple in his mouth and sucked. She moaned and he sucked harder, causing her to moan louder. Her breaths were coming fast and his hands roamed over her curves. He pulled back and ran a hand down her flat stomach to her navel. He backed up until he was kneeling between her legs. He dipped down and spread her with his fingers, careful not scratch her, and found her clitoris with his tongue. She was making little growly noises and had the sheets of the bed tight in her hands. He slid his tongue into her folds and she tossed her head from side to side, going crazy from wanting.

She was almost there when she felt him pull back. What the hell? What was up with... Oh Kami! She saw now that he had pulled off his pants and his erect member was huge! How was that going to fit inside of her? She was scared, she had heard about how this part was going to hurt and she was afraid of the pain. And him being so big didn't help calm her fears. What did was the tender look in his eyes she had never seen before. He didn't want to hurt her. She felt so full of love for him, just because he cared. She shut her eyes and he slowly entered her, felt her barrier, pulled back and pushed into her. She clutched the sheets in pain, but it slowly receded as Sesshou waited for her to get used to him. When he felt he could wait no longer he slowly started a rhythmic tempo, taking and giving. He felt her pleasure as she met every thrust. He quickened it and his eyes flashed. He had the almost uncontrollable urge to mark her and instead he his buried his face in her soft, raven hair. He pushed into her harder and harder until he felt her release, with it came his. Consummation filled him to his soul and he lay still on top of her, spent. He thought he might be crushing her and went to move but she clutched him tight to her, making an unspoken request.

She felt so complete, lying underneath him, still attached. She didn't want him to move and felt wistful when he did a few minutes later. He disengaged them, thinking her sore inside. It was, after all, her first time. Nothing could have made her want to move at the moment. They lay there, both so happy and shared feelings washed over them, love, completeness, consummation. Kagome eventually fell asleep and Sesshou did soon after, more out of comfortable sleepiness then being actually tired.

Sesshou's senses were completely alert the moment he awoke. There was something wrong, and he couldn't figure out what. Kagome moaned, sounding scared in her sleep. There was a worried frown contorting her features and she suddenly flung her arms around, caught up in the dream.

"Kagome," Sess said gruffly, shaking her shoulder lightly. She awoke with a start, eyes wide in terror. "What's wrong?" He asked, seeing whatever it was bothering her was more then just a simple dream.

She stared at him horror stricken before answering. "Naraku took Rin." She whispered. He looked at her with a hard to read expression, and then sniffed the air. That was what was wrong, he couldn't smell Rin, or feel her presence. He swore before dressing with inhuman speed and heading for the door.

"Stay here and don't leave the castle." He ordered. Kagome's temper flared. What was she, one of his servants?

"I don't think so. I'm coming with you. I think I can find where he is. And we have to figure out a way to get through his barrier." He stared hard at her, angry at her deliberant disobedience. Then he remembered something she said.

"Barrier?" He questioned.

"He always has some sort of barrier, and his miasma will kill even you. I can purify it. Besides, I love Rin as much as you do so I'm coming." She stood defiantly up to him, not remembering she was totally naked.

"You better get dressed then." He said and she paled when she was reminded of her nudity. She sent him a glare before grabbing a blanket to cover herself and changing.

Inuyasha had gone to go and get K but she wasn't in her time. When he backtracked a little he caught scent of her headed to the west. He couldn't smell her blood so she hadn't been hurt at least. Kikyou had left quite suddenly and said there was something she had to do. He left to find her and bitch her out for not telling anyone where she was going. A miasma cloud snapped his attention back to the present and Kagura was standing in front of him.

"Naraku has a present for you, Inuyasha. He wants you to come say Hi. Your miko's reincarnation will be there soon too, if you've been looking for her. She's with Sesshoumaru." She had one of those evil smiles on her face that just suited her.

"Is Sesshou helping Naraku?!" He asked astounded.

"My, we are stupid. No, She is with Sesshoumaru because she wants to be. He is visiting Naraku to have his little human girl returned." She pulled a feather out of her hair. "Well, I must be polite and take my leave now." She flew away on the feather.

Inuyasha's brow furrowed. Why would Kagome be with his asshole brother, and not be dead? He hurried away by himself, stopping only to tell Kaede to tell Sango and Miroku where he had gone.

Kagome was riding along very fast on Sesshoumaru's back. She had never gone so fast in her life. It was exhilarating yet nerve racking at the same time. And she loved it. They stopped for a moment for a quick break so Kagome could stretch. She did so and then she decided to question Sesshou-chan about last night. She wanted to know exactly how he felt about her.

"Sesshou-chan, you know how I feel about you, but you're hiding something from me." She looked at him expectantly. He stared at her without answering for a few minutes. He had thought about what she had said earlier about loving Rin almost as much as he did. How did she know that? And if She knew that, why couldn't she figure out how he felt about her.

"Why did you say I love Rin?" He asked. She looked surprised for only a second then answered.

"The way you act toward her. You dote on her for all your coldness. Your eyes soften when she cries for all you try to harden them. I just know." She looked at him speculatively.

"Then how come you can't figure out how I feel about you?" He said. She looked hard at him, and then smiled.

"I know you like me, other wise you wouldn't have saved me that day. I know you're curious about the way I am. What I can't tell is if you love me... or not." Her cheeks turned red as she realized that she was admitting what she wanted to know most out loud. What she was afraid to hear most. She still couldn't remember when she started loving him. She knew she was attracted to him from the beginning. Then she had seen him spying on them and she had wondered why, her attraction expanding with curiosity. Then he opinion of him had increased exponentionally when he had refrained from killing IY. Her attraction now included liking. Then he had saved her from those youkai and taken her to his palace. He had taken good care of her, or his servants did, and even seemed almost friendly. He had questioned her a lot, much of it embarrassing things. She had tried to explain what love was, and many other abstract concepts. She thought she had done a pretty good job but she was sure there were some flaws in her theories.

"You want to know how I feel?" He grabbed her shoulders in a tight grip. She didn't flinch or look nervous. She was not afraid of him anymore.

"When I'm with you, just near you, I feel at ease and warm, like I belong with you. I feel comfortable talking to you. I feel like I can't stay away from you. I want to with you, protecting you, loving you. I feel complete when I'm with you and I don't ever want you to leave. I love you." He finished in a snarl. Angry for the weakness he had in him. "Satisfied?" He asked her. Her eyes were brimming with tears and she fell against his chest. He let her but his face was as blank as ever when she pulled back to look up at him. She smiled and whispered, "I love you too, Sesshou-chan." He smiled at the familiar title she used and she caught her breath. His face changed completely when he smiled. There was lightness to his face, and it was so handsome it took her breath away. His golden eyes shimmered.

'Oh, do that again." She thought.

"Kagome, when this is all over, you seem to be happy at the castle, would..." he stopped annoyed. What the hell? Words never failed him. Yet there he was, fumbling for the best way to ask her to be his mate. She reached up and kissed him, delighted happiness written all over her face.

"Yes, oh, of course I'll stay with you in the castle. I never want to leave you. How goes this mate process though? From the hints Kaede gave me it isn't always fun." She had read him! He loved it. It saved his pride, though he would never admit it.

"When bedding a lover the male will mark the female and vise versa. They will have a connection that can only be severed from death. They will even feel it through time." She blushed. She had had the feeling he had wanted to do something last night, now she knew what it was.

"What is this mark?" She asked slightly concerned. Was she going to have to wear some weird symbol on her?

"I will bite you," he reached over and touched the spot on the left side of her, just below her neck. "Right here. You will get my markings on you, so other youkai will be able to distinguish you as mine." He watched her frown then smile at him.

"Yours?" She looked at him through thick lashes. "So I'll have a cresant moon on my forehead and stripes on my cheeks?"

"Yes. We had better get going." He turned so she could get on.

Kagome felt horrible. She had forgotten Rin and was thinking of herself! Poor Rin could be suffering at the hands of Naraku right now and she was gibbering away about mating! She quickly jumped on Sesshou's back (He would never stoop down for anyone so she had to jump). She guiltily hoped they wouldn't be too late.


	5. Dangerous Encounter

**Chapter 5: Dangerous Encounter**

Naraku wanted those shards Kagome had. Hers and Kouga's were the only ones left. Kikyou had, a long time ago, given him hers. He was off balance about the miko, She didn't seem to like him or have an alliance with him yet she had given him the jewel shards. He looked at the almost complete Shikon No Tama. He watched in fascination as the jewel tired to glow then fade under his youki. The reincarnate miko was near.

"Kanna, show me Inuyasha." He demanded in his silky voice. The stupid hanyou was coming as fast as he could. The others were not with him. Where was Kikyou's reincarnate? He knew she was coming, was she coming by herself?

"Show me the miko reincarnated wench." He ordered. The mirror looked misty then slowly shapes could be made out. When it cleared he surprise filled him. Much closer than the Inu-tachi was the Great Lord of the Western Lands with Kagome on his back. 'So the girls taste had improved and she has given up on the foolish hanyou, huh?' he thought and another occurred to him. By the gentle way he held the human girl on his back, he would have to go through Sesshoumaru to get to Kagome, thus his jewel shards. He had heard of the great Youkai's power and was a little unsure about it. He looked over to where Kikyou was on the ground too weak to move. His barrier kept her soul insects from entering. His evil chuckle of satisfaction reached the angry miko's ears. She managed to lift her head a little.

"Damn you Naraku!" She screamed before fainting.

Kagome heard the scream and there was no question Sesshou did. Rin's smell was becoming clearer with every bound. The speed at which they were going made tears run down her guilt-ridden face, and her hair whip and tangle. She could feel the Shikon No Tama calling for her and they jumped over a last hedge of trees to land in a large clearing. On the far side was a building with a still but alive form in front of it. Kikyou seemed to be in a faint Kagome knew she wasn't dead. She looked at Sesshou who was staring at the building. He told her that was where Rin was, and with her Kohaku.

"So, the reincarnate Miko likes the full bloods now?" Kagome heard Naraku's teasing remark but ignored it, Sesshou doing the same.

"Where is Rin?" Sesshou demanded, a slight growl in his throat.

"I don't think you are in such a position to make demands, though she is still alive." He smirked then added, "At least, for now." Sesshou tensed then was gone.

"Sesshou-chan, NO! There's a barrier!" She warned. Sesshou had headed off without seeing Naraku, his acute hearing telling him exactly where Naraku was. Kagome could now see to the left of the building in the clearing was Naraku inside of a barrier. She didn't know how she could see it, but she could. Sesshou heard her too late. He hit the barrier and was blown backwards. He got control of his flight through the air by flipping a few times and landed lightly on his feet.

Kagome was seething. She could feel the blood rushing through her veins far too fast. 'Naraku!' He was the cause of everyone's pain, Kikyou, Sango, Miroku, IY, Sesshou, and even herself. So many had died at his evil hands. With out conscious thought her hand reached for an arrow, and she expertly notched it. "Say goodbye to your barrier, Naraku!" She pulled the bow just a bit tighter and as she released, put all of her hatred for him in that arrow. It glowed a pure purplish white color as it soared over the ground and went right through the barrier, and still kept going. It hit Naraku in the shoulder. The barrier dissipated and so did Naraku's arm. "Yeah!" she cried in exultation. Root tentacles appeared out of nowhere and were coming at her. She never moved and the next moment Sesshou appeared in front of her, slicing them apart with toukijin. She looked at him gladly but he was giving her a curious look. Kagura appeared behind him and her eyes widened. 

Before she could utter a word, he turned around and went to attack.

"Wait," Kagura said. Sesshou hesitated and Kagura took the moment to speak.

"I'm not here to fight." She said. She got closer to them and could see the Shikon No Kakera.

"I didn't call you here Kagura, what are you doing here?" Naraku demanded. Kagura ignored him and called toward the building.

"Kohaku, bring Rin out." Kohaku appeared with the little girl and Naraku scowled.

"I see you have your memory back, huh Kohaku." Naraku grinned evilly at him. Kagome watched in confusion, Sesshou remembered this boy as the one who had, while being controlled, kidnapped Rin. He narrowed his eyes, seeing the look the boy had in his eyes, full of life, not empty from the control Naraku had held.

"Kohaku, kill Rin." Naraku ordered. Kohaku raised his arm and brought his weapon it down on the little girl. Kagome closed her eyes tight, not wanting to see Rin die. She was afraid to open them but did anyway, sure she would see the little girl's still form on the ground. What she saw was Kohaku pulling the bindings off of Rin, which he had just cut. She breathed a sigh of relief and felt the relief Sesshou could not hide. Rin ran to Sesshou with tears in her eyes.

"Rin was so scared! Kohaku said Rin would die if Rin didn't do exactly as he said. He said that the bad man would kill Rin!" She sobbed on Sesshoumaru's leg as she hugged it. Kagura walked up to Kagome and Sesshou's gut wrenched. If she were to try to kill Kagome now there would be nothing he could do. He would never get to her in time. Kagome took half a step back and looked at her in suspicion. Kagura simply held out the jewel shard to her.

"Here." Was all Kagura said and handed her the shards. Kagome took them in surprise, and watched as they purified at her touch. Kagura's eyes went wide and she gripped her chest in pain. She stumblingly turned around and Kagome saw over her shoulder that Naraku held something in his hand. A... a heart!

"How dare you defy me again, Kagura!" His hand squeezed and Kagura fell to her knees. "You can become apart of me again." He chuckled. Roots shot toward Kagura and kagome and Sesshoumaru diced them up. There was an utterly disgusted look on Sesshoumaru's face. Kagome was dragging Kagura as far away as she could while Naraku attacked Sesshoumaru to get at Kagura. A horrible anger filled her at the vileness of the horrible creature. A surprised voice interrupted her thoughts on Naraku.

"Why are you helping me?" Kagura asked in anger. Kagome looked at her surprised.

"Aren't you just another who has been manipulated by Naraku? Do you hate him?" At Kagura's nod she continued. "We all must work together to overcome him. It's the only way to defeat him." She smiled at the woman on the ground. As sudden as the smile came it disappeared to be replaced by a look filled with horror. She wheeled around to see a sight that would haunt her in her dreams.

"Sesshou..." She managed to whisper as fear overtook her. Naraku was holding Sesshou, a tentacle stabbed through his abdomen. Miasma poured into the wound and Sesshou looked so pale and so angry. The miasma was paralyzing him. Rage filled Kagome at the sight of that disgusting creature touching her Sesshoumaru. Her vision narrowed and all else turned black. She had never been so angry before. 'How dare he! How dare he! How dare he!' She chanted over and over in her head. How dare he hurt her Sesshou, her mate! An arrow was notched and flying before she even collected her thoughts. The miasma disappeared and the tentacle holding Sesshou disintegrated.

Her angry face now was awash with worry for the Demon lying on the ground she was headed toward right that moment. She lifted Sesshou's shoulders to try to help him stand, the paralysis slowly wearing off. She helped him to his feet, light as a kitten in her arms. He was leaning heavily on her, still partially paralyzed. She didn't even notice the weight.

"Kohaku, kill Kagome! Kill them Kohaku! Now!" Naraku yelled. The Shikon No Kakera in his back glowed darkly and he fell to his knees. He would not kill them, he would not kill them! He grunted from the mental abuse Naraku was putting him through to try and get him to be the miko's assassin. He reached his handover his shoulder, stretching his arm to be able to reach the fragment in his back. Naraku shouted orders at him he managed to ignore as his hand crept closer to the jewel.

Kagome could do nothing except watch as her best friends brother attempted to kill himself rather than kill her. She felt such compassion for someone who could be so loyal as to be killed when, conscious, he was ordered to kill innocent. 'Kohaku,' She whispered. Kohaku's fingers grasped the Shikon No Kakera and he yanked. The fragment descended to the ground, just before Kohaku did. Blood spattered the ground around him and poled the ground. The Shikon was the only thing keeping the young boy alive. Kagome bowed her head in pain and respect for the brave boy.

Sesshou looked off into the distance and saw Inuyasha standing there with his jaw agape. Kagome noticed a second later via Sesshou. In his weakened state Sesshou's mental barriers were also weakened. Naraku was taking in the situation trying to grow back his tentacle. It was taking a lot longer than normal and he marveled at the power the miko reincarnate held. He saw she had just tapped into a little piece of it with her anger. Kagome suddenly realized what she had to do.

"Inuyasha! Take your brother away from here!" She ordered. Inuyasha finally shook off his momentary stupor.

"Why would we help him?" he demanded. His brother had kidnapped her and tried to kill the both of them any number of times and here she was protecting him!

"Because he saved me! Now do it!" She ordered eyes flashing. He did as she asked, taking her word for it and having been surprised at her demand. She had never been like this. The closest time was when she had blown Naraku apart along time ago. Kagome turned to face Naraku, hatred in her very soul. There was surprise in him that she would dare to do something so foolish as to face him alone, untapped miko powers or not.

"You think you can take me yourself? Your such a foolish little human bitch." He chuckled at her, trying to hit a nerve. Her smile totally threw him.

"I may be foolish but I am smart. And I know my capabilities, now. You get to test them." Her smile disappeared and she felt she would explode with the all-consuming hatred that went through her. Suddenly it occurred to her that a large part of it was Sesshou's. But she could still control herself, perfectly actually.

"Your despicable! You try to deny what you are, half human! No matter what you do you'll always be part human." Naraku's eyes and nostrils widened in anger, but Kagome wasn't finished. "Your disgusting, a coward, a lowlife who thinks they can outdo the gods. News flash, Naraku, I plan to set Onigumo's spirit free and condemn you to hell!" Naraku's face was completely outraged at her speech. During it Kagome's eyes had slowly turned a lavender color and she was glowing softly.

"Bitch!" Naraku said and sent tentacles at her, sure of his kill.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled. Sesshoumaru watched as the only person he had ever felt warmth toward was about to be killed. A horror filled him at the prospect of her limp, dead form lying on the soft ground. But when the tentacles got near her they vaporized. Naraku howled in pain. Kagome was slowly rising in the air, in the middle of a purple orb, a barrier. She pointed at Naraku and mouthed words they couldn't hear. In a rage Naraku sent more tentacles at her but they bounced of her light hued barrier. Kagome's thoughts seem to flash before her eyes in the moments she was in the air.

'_Naraku that bastard is going to die. Sesshou is worried, don't worry Sesshou-chan. Inuyasha is worried too, oh dear god, he loves me! Not Kikyou, ME! Hmm, I wonder where Sango and Miroku are. OH! It's just as I thought, they love each other but are afraid to tell each other! Thank God they have Shippou. Rin thinks I'm an angel. Wonder why she thinks that, it's just me. I'm nothing special really. Well, I know I can kill Naraku now. Kikyou is gathering souls that were held off by the barrier that I broke. She doesn't like what I am doing right now. I wonder, am I just she? No, now I know, I'm not. She is a girl from this time whose soul was transferred to me and changed a bit to suit my character. I am different from Kikyou, which is why the soul is so easy for me to call back. I am kagome, not the reincarnation, only myself.'_

This went through her mind in the blink of an eye as a purple ball formed at the end of her pointed finger. A streak, going so fast it was just visible to the demon eye, shot at the angry hanyou. It hit him in the chest and he screamed. There was a blast of purple light when it hit him, which slowly faded to reveal that Naraku was gone. Kagome floated slowly to the ground in the purple orb and it disappeared when she was lying safely on the ground, unconscious from the power that she had used. Sesshoumaru rushed to her in a blur and picked her up. He looked into her face and saw the exhaustion there.

"Get you hands off Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled. Sesshou gave him an annoyed look and turned back to Kagome. Her conscious confused thoughts hit him before she opened her eyes. This frail little human had just killed Naraku! And she was awake, in his arms, where he decided suddenly she would stay.

"Kagome, you are unhurt?" he asked in a flat tone. Only his eyes showed a little bit of his worry in their depths.

"I said let go of her Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha repeated. He was outraged that Kagome had protected him and now Sesshoumaru was touching her!

"Inuyasha, it's okay." Kagome struggled to explain as she attempted to stand on her own. Sesshou let her but kept her pressed close to him knowing she couldn't stand on her own. She put a hand on his chest and smiles at him gratefully.

"Kagome you traitor!" Inuyasha was feeling very betrayed. Kagome turned angry eyes on him, eyes full of still fresh pain. He stepped back at the look of intense hurt in her eyes.

"Me, the traitor? What about you and Kikyou! She tried to kill me and still would if she could and yet you still protect her! She's not even alive! You left me and went after her!" Inuyasha looked surprised, then horribly guilty. It never occurred to him that was the reason for Kagome's mood when he went to see Kikyou.

"Then I went home and was attacked but your brother saved me. And even though I thought he was taking me to be used to get the Tetsusaiga, it soon became clear over the many days that he wasn't." She smiled up at the demon who was holding her tight against him and he growled at her. He did not like his softness aired in front of these people. He sighed, knowing it was going to happen soon anyway.

"Sesshoumaru, saved a human? I thought you hated all humans?!" Inuyasha was surprised at his brother's selflessness and horribly guilty he hadn't been the one to save her.

"I do not despise humans totally, just their dirtiness and inferiority and especially their nauseous scent. This Kagome smells very pleasant and is as cleanly as I myself am. Beside the point, do you still think she is an ordinary human after what just happened? A mere mortal? Think again little brother. She is very different, and very powerful. I believe what we just witnessed was a mere sample of the power she could have." Sesshou's voice held respect for the only human he had ever seen like her. Kagome looked troubled.

"If I'm not human, definitely NOT demon, then what am I? Surely not a hanyou!" Sesshoumaru wanted to laugh at the implication. His pure little miko, a hanyou? That was power no demon ever had; no human should have been capable of.

"No," Sesshou answered. "I would have been able to smell it on you."

"Then what am I?!" She ranted hysterically.

"You are a miko with extraordinary powers." A voice that was sweet and deep answered as Kikyou stepped forward out of the shadows to materialize behind her.


	6. Caninesized Problem

Chapter 6: Canine-size Problem 

"How is it that you have so much power?" Kikyou asked in jealousy. "You have more than I do and you came from me." She had wanted to get Naraku, not her reincarnation to, even if she had done a good job.

"Kikyou, just like in our looks, there are some differences in our souls. When your soul became mine it was changed just a little to suit my personality. I am a lot different from you and I'm guessing I needed to be more powerful to survive this time in this world. That's why it's so easy for me to call it back, it's doesn't belong in your body anymore, it's not yours anymore." Kagome had seen so many things that moment she was in the air about to kill the foe she had been hunting for a long time. The one thing that had always haunted her had made itself plain for her to see. She was not just Kikyou in a look-alike body. She was Kagome and no one else.

"Kikyou?" Inuyasha spoke. "Is it true that you tried to kill Kagome?" His face was set in resiliency. Kikyou looked surprised at the hard look in his eyes. She realized that moment how much the hanyou cared for her reincarnation.

"Yes I did, more than once. I even hinted to some youkai that the girl had jewel shards so that while we were together she would be attacked. There would be no one there to help her, or so I thought." She glared at Sesshoumaru. "Does that bother you Inuyasha? Does she matter to you more than I do?" Kikyou knew exactly what she was doing. She was going to let everyone here know just how much Inuyasha cared about the miko girl.

Kagome's eyes narrowed. She saw right through Kikyou's little act. It came to her a split second later what Kikyou was trying to do. Well, that was too bad because Kagome already knew Inuyasha loved her. The major problem now was that she loved Sesshou now. How in hell was she going to handle this? Well, she'd better give it a try.

"Of course he was bothered. We are friends after all and he needs me to be his Tama detector." Kikyou's nostrils flared at Kagome's answer to the question she had directed at Inuyasha. Inuyasha's mouth finally closed when Kagome spoke and his eyes held slight hurt that she ha called them just friends.

"Why don't we let Inuyasha answer the question?" Kikyou wasn't making a request. All eyes on Inuyasha, he squirmed at the pressure of too many sets of eyes on him at once.

"Inuyasha, answer me. Do you care more for this girl than you do for me?" She reiterated. Inuyasha ducked his head so no one could see his eyes. To everyone's surprise he walked up to Kikyou and looked her straight in the eye with pain and guilt in his hardened features. He had to tell Kikyou the truth.

"Do you remember long a go, when I told you I wanted to be with you? It wasn't a lie. It made me even angrier when I thought you betrayed me." Kikyou looked sad and angry when he said this. Kagome watched silently. "When I was awoken by Kagome, I thought it was you. In an angry moment you both look a lot alike. I found out you were dead and slowly began to trust her as I had you. We became friends through being together during fights and crisis after crisis. She knows more about me than anyone." He smiled wryly. "After all we went through I thought I might be able to be open with her. Then I found out you still walked this world. When I knew I had to avenge you, I had to step back from Kagome. I didn't want to get close to her and have her hurt. Then you asked me to go to hell with you after we had killed Naraku. I thought I would do it. I attempted to tell Kagome but she said she just wanted to be with me and I couldn't refuse her. I never told her. When I found out Sesshoumaru had taken her I realized it was my fault. I also realized just how much I cared for her."

Oh shit this was going to be a problem. Inuyasha had just about said he loved her, and she didn't want him anymore! If he had said it about a week earlier she would have run into his arms joyfully and proclaimed her love for him. But she didn't feel anything more than friendship toward him now. Damn, Damn, Damn! What was she going to do?

"Inuyasha, I don't..." Kagome tried to tell him. He waved his hand in her direction to silence her.

"Hold on, le me finish." He walked over and took Kikyou's hands. He seemed so different right now, while he was in front of Kikyou. "Kikyou, along time ago, before Naraku messed things up, I had chosen you for my mate. I loved you and thought I could turn human to live with you. Kagome never wanted me to be something I wasn't." He let go of Kikyou's hands and turned to Kagome, taking her hands gently within his own. Kagome felt a ripple of possessive anger go through Sesshou.

"Kagome, you never asked e to change for you. You've always excepted me the way I am." He turned his face to look at Kikyou. "I loved you over fifty years ago, Kikyou. But that was before I met Kagome." He turned back to look her in the eye. "Now I love you, Kagome." She was so frustrated! What was she supposed to say? She didn't love him that way anymore, she loved his brother Sesshou-chan. Damn you Kikyou!

Sesshou felt her thoughts and calmed down somewhat. She loved him, not his half-breed brother. He stood there, not happy with the fact the hanyou was touching her. Why didn't she just tell him? Just then, he felt a presence coming this way. He started to warn Kagome mentally of a youkai's arrival but found out she had already sensed the only two Shikon shards left.

Kagome's thoughts were in turmoil. 'Oh no! Not him too!' Now she would have to deal with Kouga proclaiming his love for her on top of everything else! Between Sesshou getting mad at her because of the current situation, and Inuyasha having just barely proclaimed his love for her, there was Kouga she would have to explain the circumstances to. Suddenly, it all seemed very funny to her. A smile barely lit her face. First, Inuyasha is a complete asshole to her but she loved him anyway, meanwhile there's a cute nice guy willingly shouting his love for her to the world. Then she goes and falls for a cold, over-possessive youkai-lord instead!

Kouga had just arrived to see Kagome smiling at Inuyasha. Inuyasha seemed to be waiting for some kind of answer from her and had started to get scared he had said the wrong thing. Sesshoumaru growled lowly watching Inuyasha and Kagome. Kagome really quickly turned to look at Kouga and her smile widened fractionally. It was just enough for Kouga to take it as a good sign for him.

"So, kagome, did you finally decide you deserve better than the dog-turd?" He asked, sure since she had smiled at him so. Everyone was completely thrown when Kagome, out of the blue, started laughing. It was a genuine laugh, letting all her stress out. Sesshou was surprised at the outburst and read her thoughts. When he was finished he allowed an ironic grin to touch his lips. Just that small change made a few people look in his direction. It made the handsome features on his face to light up. He decided to surprise them all even more and walked over to Kagome. Inuyasha dropped her hands and took a protective stance. When he saw the small smile on his half brothers face he stopped and stared. Sesshoumaru smiled?

Sesshou waved a hand at Inuyasha and went right up to Kagome. He held out a hand to her and she looked at him confused for a moment before putting her hand willingly in his.

"Kagome, don't..." Inuyasha started to warn but stopped when he was interrupted.

"Inuyasha, I'm sorry. I did love you, but when I saw you with Kikyou it broke my heart." She smiled at the Youkai-lord. "And Sesshou-chan healed it."

Inuyasha was confused then realized she had called his brother Sesshou-_chan._ Chan? Meaning...

"Inuyasha," Sesshou interrupted his thought once again. "You were too late. Kagome doesn't love you anymore. I have decided to take this extraordinary woman as my mate." That wasn't new news to Kagome but she was glad he had said it just the same. "I was apprehensive at first because a lord mate needs to be as powerful as he is, but now I have no doubts." Kagome was pleasantly surprised at that one and turned crimson at the implied remark. Her, as powerful as the Lord of the Western Lands?

"Do you love her?" Inuyasha asked softly. Kagome couldn't hear him but understood from Sesshou. Actually, she had been curious to know if he loved her. He most definitely had string feeling for her, but he had been hiding some things from her since the night she had found his room. Since the night they had made love. She waited, looking up at him for the answer. As if sensing Sesshou's reluctance to answer, Kouga jumped in.

"Kagome, you don't actually have feelings for this dog-t..." Kouga changed his mind when he realized whom he was talking about. "You don't have feeling for the Lord of the Western Lands, do you?" He looked slightly pained.

"Kouga, I know you claimed me, but I am not something to be claimed. At that time I was in love with Inuyasha anyway. But I couldn't say for sure that I was taken because I thought Inuyasha loved Kikyou more than I. But with Sesshou-chan, I know he loves me, and I do love him." She looked sadly at Kouga. He dropped to his knees, stunned.

"I'm sorry," She murmured. His and Inuyasha's pain was because of her. No, it was over her. But not everybody in the world could get what they wanted, right? Just the same, she couldn't stand the pain I they're eye's. Not when she was the one who caused it. Inuyasha just stood stock-still and stared into space, completely stunned. Slowly pain filled his eyes and he turned away, his face hidden. Kouga abruptly leapt to his feet and left with the speed the jewel shards lended him. Kagome extracted her hand from Sesshou's and walked up to Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha?" She questioned. He did not turn around. "Inuyasha, I know I hurt you and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall in love with your brother and hurt you. You can't control how your heart feels." She smiled. "Even your control freak brother can't control that." Sesshou growled at her. Inuyasha remained silent. "Inuyasha, you will always be one of the best friends I ever had. You will always be the first one I loved, no matter what. I hope you don't hate me." She finished and went to turn away. Inuyasha suddenly spun around and grabbed her hand, stopping her from walking away.

"Idiot! I could never hate you!" He said loudly and continued in a softer voice. "You are my best friend, I can always trust you with anything. You accept who I am and don't care to change it. You like me for me. You stood by me through things most humans couldn't." He took a deep breath. "If you are happy with my brother..." He trailed off. His eyes were directed at her with the same look he gave Kikyou.

"I am." She replied. He nodded and just looked at her for a moment then tugged her hand and pulled her into a tight embrace. She hugged him back before going back to Sesshou and taking his hand.

"Inuyasha, be sure to tell Miroku, Sango, and Shippou I'll visit soon." She smiled at him and felt her self being lifted off the ground to disappear into the sky on a crimson hued cloud.

Inuyasha slowly fell to his knees. His heart constricted with painful loss.

"KA-GO-ME!" He screamed into the heavens. Kikyou watched from a distance. When his cry stopped echoing she walked up to him and took his hand.

"It is time, Inuyasha." She said. He nodded and took her hand, rising to his feet.


	7. Double Tragedy

Chapter 7: Double Tragedy 

"Sesshou-chan, where are we going?" He had closed off to her again and the emotion he had let her see was just a whispered memory to her. He was hiding himself and she hated it.

"That Wolf-youkai has shards of the Shikon No Tama. You wish to complete it, do you not?" He gave her a piercing look and she scowled at him.

"Yes, of course I do." Her facial expression changed slowly as she gathered the courage to be rejected.

"Sesshou, why won't you let me see you?" She asked.

"I stand before you for you to see." He replied evasively.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. Why won't you let me see what you're thinking, what you're feeling?" He scowled and was about to answer but she cut him off. "Please, Sesshou-chan? I want to know all of you. I want to see what you see, feel what you feel. I want to know that I own your heart. I love you." There were tears forming in her eyes.

Damn, he hated it when she cried. It made him feel a guilt he had never known before. But he wasn't going to give her what she so desperately wanted so easily. He did have his pride, after all.

"Why don't you try a little harder?" he grabbed her wrist and squeezed. He sounded angry. Kagome had never really feared him, but for some reason, this moment she did.

The squeeze on her wrist wasn't enough to do any damage but it was still enough to hurt. And to make her angry. If she was going to see all of him she was going to have to break the barrier herself. If she wasn't strong enough to break through to him she would never be strong enough to handle what he saw and felt.

Anger erupted through her, taking over her fear. So he wanted her to do it herself, huh? Well he would see. Without even thinking she wrenched her hand from his grasp and grabbed both of his shoulders. Just as the last time she used her power, Kagome's eyes slowly shone purple. Her power slowly increased, yet she held his shoulders gently, letting him know without words she could never harm him.

Despite the control of her touch Sesshou felt a tingle of fear race through him. He had never feared anything in his life and the fact that this human put fear in him made him angry.

Her hair was billowing around her and sometimes whipped his face. He felt a slight squeeze on his shoulders and was surprised to realize she was there.

And as suddenly as it happened, she let go of him. He put his fingers to his temples and rubbed, concentrating, but for nothing. She had permanently broken his walls and she mad it impossible to rebuild them. Her eyes gradually turned back to their blue-gray color and she smiled.

"Satisfied?" She asked. He was astonished she had accomplished it with such ease. He couldn't believe how easily she had gotten into his mind, he hadn't even noticed until she was there. He held much more respect for her powers now. He wanted to train her and make her as powerful as possible. And he loved her. As she saw all this and more her smile brightened to the point of dazzling. And that just what it did. Still, when she looked into his face there was a stolidness that was hard to replace.

He had looked forward to the moment she realized just how much he loved her. It felt as if his chest would burst.

"Yes, are you?" he knew she was but he wanted to hear it anyway. But he didn't get to. Instead her eyes brightened even more and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He liked that even better.

"There it is." Kagome pointed to the waterfall. "The Kehai of a Shikon shard is coming from the Wolf-demon den." She remembered this place well; she had stayed here for a day when Kouga kidnapped her.

Sesshou could smell the stench of wolf everywhere and wrinkled his nose. Other wolf demons spied them and started shouting and yelling, in case they needed to protect the cave.

"It's alright! It's me!" Kagome yelled. The wolf-demons immediately stopped the ruckus and instead stared at the Lord who was with her.

"Where is Kouga?" She asked the demon with the spiked, white hair.

"He is in the cave, Sister." He answered. Sesshou growled at the reference to being a relation to Kagome and she put a calming hand on his arm.

"It's okay, I'll explain later." She walked to the waterfall and explained how to get in. He held her against him and went through fast, managing to not get them wet.

"I thought I smelled dog." Kouga's voice carried from the back of the cave where he sat.

"We are here for the Shikon shards." Sesshou informed him.

"Forget it. I'm not giving them up." He looked disgustedly at the both of them.

"Kouga, please..." Kagome said.

"No. Now get out." He looked away from Kagome and she took a confident step closer.

"I can't do that, Kouga. Yours are the only ones left. They will eventually turn evil and you will to if they are not purified. The jewel has to be completed before I can..." She never finished it. She was going to say, "...before I can go home." But realized she didn't want to go home, not to stay at least. She wanted to stay with Sesshou-chan. She took a deep breath. "Please don't make me take them." Sesshou stretched his claws and got ready but Kagome told him that she would do it herself. He relaxed his stance and asked how. She just smiled a little but didn't answer verbally or telepathically. She very apparently wanted it to be surprise, so he left it at that.

"How do you think you could take them?" Kouga got up now and stared at her angrily. Kagome decided there were no other options where someone wouldn't get hurt.

"Like this." She said and closed her eyes. She put her hand over the Jewel, almost complete, and concentrated. When she opened her eyes they were purple again.

'Her power is getting easier for her to use,' Sesshou thought.

"What are you going to do, kill me?" Kouga asked, smiling slightly.

"Of course not. I could never kill you Kouga." Her voice had an eerie echo, a detached quality to it. "I think of you as a friend. You have helped Inuyasha and I more times then I can count. But I need the Shikon No Tama to be completed." The distant quality in her voice sent shivers down Kouga's back. He was about to reply when he felt something in his legs. There was a slight pain and then the jewel shards were zooming towards Kagome. She caught them easily and they glowed pure before she put them in a bottle for safekeeping. Kouga looked down at his legs and saw there was no mark where there should have been ripped flesh. He looked up to see tears in Kagome's now blue-gray eyes. He stiffened and was ready to forgive her. She couldn't help the way she felt.

"Kouga, I'm so sorry." She said in a whisper. Only his demon senses allowed him to hear it. Sesshou wrapped his arm around her petite waist and went quickly through the waterfall so they stayed dry.

"Ane-ue?" One of the wolf demons regarded her curiously. She smilingly shook her head while Sesshou let a growl rumble in his chest.

"I am going to mate Sesshou-chan so you have to stop calling me that. Okay?" She looked into his shocked face and saw him nod. "Spread the word." He nodded once again and she sighed. 'Lets go home,' She thought. Sesshou agreed and they were within moments floating on a cloud high in the air, to the place they both considered home.

Kouga traveled quickly toward the smell. It was really bothering him. He could still smell Dog-turd in the place he had last seen him, where Naraku had been killed. He didn't know what was bothering him, except that undead miko was there too. He couldn't travel as fast as he used to but he could still get there quickly.

When he arrived he stopped short, too stunned to move. What he saw was, for him, totally unexpected. Inuyasha was being held by the miko in a hole in the earth that was glowing red. Inuyasha was unconscious as he slowly descended into the crimson glowing grave. The only place that glowed like that was hell, but why were they descending to hell? From here, it looked as though the beautiful dead woman was dragging the hanyou down. He had to find out was happening. He rushed closer.

"What the hell are you doing Miko?" He said loudly. Kikyou shot him a dark look.

"I am taking my... lover here to hell with me, Wolf-boy. Why do you interfere? She looked like she wanted to make him disappear.

Kouga didn't know why he cared if the hanyou went to his early grave or not. When no answer was forthcoming, Kikyou laughed.

"You don't even know why you are here." Her look darkened. "Leave us, Wolf." She commanded and shot a jet of energy from her finger at him. It stung and rendered him paralyzed for a moment. He was angered that this woman dared to do something to him. He lifted his head and sniffed, smelling people coming, fast. Sango with Shippou aboard Kirara entered the clearing to freeze the same way Kouga had. Inuyasha and Kikyou were just a few feet from being swallowed up by the ground when Miroku arrived on the contraption Kagome rode. He stopped and gasped aloud. Kouga's paralysis was wearing off and now he could speak.

"The Miko bitch is trying to drag Inuyasha to hell!" Comprehension dawned on the demon exterminator's and the houshi's faces and they raced forward to the edge of the pit. Sango threw Haraikotsu and it landed on the opposite side of the pit. Her intention of waking Inuyasha failed but it did get Kikyou's attention.

"Inuyasha, wake up!" Sango yelled.

"Come on Inuyasha!" Miroku added his voice to try and wake the unconscious half-demon.

"You fools! It's useless. He will not wake before he has already been swallowed up in hell!" Kikyou smiled triumphantly. Shippou rushed forward.

"NO! Inuyasha, please wake up! Please, for Kagome!" Shippou wailed. There were tears in the little Kitsune's eyes. They widened happily when he saw Inuyasha slowly awaken. Things cleared as the fog slowly dissipated off his brain. He looked up to see Sango, Miroku, Shippou and Kouga all looking worriedly into the pit.

"Wha... what the hell?" He looked angrily up at them.

Inuyasha, get out of there. Kikyou is trying to take you to hell!" Miroku warned him. His warning was returned by an angry look.

"Don't you think I know that? Now get out of here, all of you. This is MY choice!" They all pulled back, hurt and stunned. The same question clouded most of their minds. Why was Inuyasha going with Kikyou when they still had to find Kagome?

"You're giving up on life just because of Kagome? You are pathetic, Dog-turd. Don't you see how much you will hurt her by doing this?" Kouga stared angrily down at Inuyasha. The rest wondered what was going on. So he had found Kagome? Was she all right? Kouga turned to explain. "Kagome came here with Sesshoumaru and managed to kill Naraku." He paused to gauge their surprised reactions before continuing. "She is in love with Sesshoumaru and he with her. They plan to mate and have all the jewel shards. I think Kagome plans to fuse them together." He had a distant, hurt look in his eyes and Inuyasha's face was full of fresh pain. The three just learning this were awash with surprise. Kagome and Sesshoumaru, the cold-blooded killer who hated all humans?

"Come to hell with me, Inuyasha!" Kikyou once again rendered Inuyasha unconscious. His friends and Kouga watched as a moment later the earth swallowed the two. The stood frozen for moments on end after the fissure closed. Kouga's voice finally roused them.

"We should tell Kagome." He said. The rest agreed and they headed out. Sango suddenly froze and they gave her a questionable look she didn't see. Miroku and Kouga followed her gaze to see a prone figure lying on the ground. The outfit and armor he wore identified the still body. It was Kohaku, Sango's little brother. Kouga unobtrusively left to inform Kagome of Inuyasha's departure from this world. Miroku and Shippou watched as Sango, shaking, went over to her dead sibling.

Kagome held the different sized jewel shards in her hand. She was afraid, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and concentrated. Slowly the jewel shard merged with the largest one. When it was complete she breathed easy again. She had been so afraid it would send her home. She smiled up at Sesshou and felt his relief that nothing had happened. He showed her just how much when he took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. She melted into it.

Kagome pulled away suddenly and he felt a tremor go through her. She stepped back and the Shikon No Tama pulled out of her grasp to float in the air. Her eyes widened in realization and she saw Kouga appear out of the corner of her eye.

"NO!" She screamed as the jewel flew towards her heart. It didn't collide but melted into her flesh. Her eyes brightened lavender, then she disappeared. Sesshou fell to his knees, letting a howl of loss erupt from his throat.

"KAGOME!" He screamed to the heavens, the last time he would speak the name for almost five hundred years. Kouga watched Kagome disappear and the Great Demon-lord's grief. He suddenly knew that whatever he had felt for Kagome, it was nothing compared to what the demon-lord felt. Kouga hung his head in his own grief. Kagome was gone and it was his fault. If only he had gotten there a moment sooner...

But he was too late.


	8. The Powers and Another Tragedy

Authors Note: Hey! Angel here, thanking Reba for your review! Thanx so much your questions should be answered here. I think, what happens to the gang, where Kagome is... Yeah, it's there. Have fun reading!

NEwayz, I am moving on Saturday and won't be able to write for an indefinite amount of time, hopefully not more than a week. Tho it seems no one will notice except Reba... and yes, I will give recognition to anyone who reviews, and if you leave your email address I'll email you. OR if you want to 'mail me my email is . I would love 'em!! Especially critics, I need to improve my writing skills! Well, enough delay, read on!

BYE!

RyuuAngel aka: Riasha

Chapter 8: The Powers and Another Tragedy 

The pitter-patter of rain hitting the old well house matched the rate of the tears streaming down Kagome's face. She felt the jewel, now whole, under her skin just beneath her collarbone. She had the jewel, so she should be able to get back! She climbed to the top of the latter and stared at the bones at the bottom of the well.

"Here goes nothing!" She whispered and dropped from the top of the well. The first thing she noticed was the pitter-patter of rain on the rooftop of the old well house. The next was how much her legs hurt from hitting the ground. When she looked up she did not see blue skies but the ceiling of the building and the ladder that went into the well in modern times. Missing was the fresh air, the shining sun, and the vines running into the well in the Sengoku Jidai. Grief filled her. She couldn't get back! She couldn't see if Miroku and Sango got together, or if Inuyasha would better his Tetsusaiga. She wouldn't be there when Kaede died, or to see Shippou grow up. She wouldn't see Rin grow into a beautiful young woman and... Sesshou-chan! She sobbed aloud. She would never see Sesshou again! She already missed his impassive face, his golden eyes, the rare occasion when he gave her a real smile.

"Sesshoumaru!" She screamed, then curled up into a little ball and sobbed for a long time until exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep.

"Kagome?" A sweet, gentle, loving voice pushed through the fog inside her head.

"Mama?" She whispered. Slowly the fog cleared and realization replaced it. There was a tightness in her chest, a loss she had never felt before. She opened her eyes and saw she was on her familiar bed inside her room. Her mother was smiling down on her from where she sat on the bed.

"You've been sleeping all day. We found you at the bottom of the well when Buyo wouldn't get out." Her mother was giving her a questioning look. Kagome's eyes filled and she threw herself on her mother as she let out a great sob.

"Oh Mama!" She cried on her mother's lap. Her mother held her until the storm passed. Slowly she pushed her daughter into a sitting position. Kagome sniffed a few times, trying to get ahold of herself. The rain outside of the house slowed but the clouds did not lighten.

"What happened?" Kagome's mother probed gently. She wondered what could make her little girl so distraught. 'Not so little, my Kagome is soon a woman.' Mama thought.

Haltingly Kagome unwound her tale. She started right at the beginning with Inuyasha and Kikyou. Then she went on to how Sesshou saved her and how he had taken her to his palace. She blushed when she remembered how forthright she had been and how sweet his kiss was. She turned even redder when she told her mother of her first time with Sesshou, expecting her Mama to be mad. But she just nodded and Kagome went on about the next morning and how Rin was kidnapped. She had to explain who Rin was and then how she had killed Naraku. Her mothers understanding face finally showed an unreadable emotion when she said this.

"You have some sort of supernatural powers?" She had on an expression Kagome couldn't decipher.

"Yeah. I've always been able to shoot purifying arrows and purify the jewel, but I just got control of my powers to use them at will." She told her mother.

"Could I see?" Her mother requested. Kagome nodded and they went outside. Kagome concentrated and her eyes caught the lavender hue. She pointed at a large rock and shot a purple flash at it. It was surrounded in purple light and when the light faded the rock was gone.

"Kagome, that's awesome!" Her mother smiled. "Lets go sit under the God Tree and you can finish your story." Kagome followed her mother to the tree, noticing the rain had stopped, but the clouds still swirled darkly. Kagome looked up at the God Tree and guilt seized her. Poor Inuyasha! The clouds in the sky swirled darker.

Under the magnificent tree Kagome resumed her story, going to how horrible she had felt when she told Inuyasha and Kouga she loved Sesshoumaru. She told next how she had retrieved all the jewel shards and returned to Sesshou's palace with him. Then how she had fused the jewel together and... A lump hit her throat and she swallowed.

"Oh, Mama! The jewel planted itself inside of me and sent me here." A single tear cursed down her cheek. It began to sprinkle all around the tree. Mama noticed but said nothing for the moment. "Mama, I'm stuck here, I'll never see any of my friends from the Sengoku Jidai again!" She whispered, the tears quickening down her cheeks, and so did the rain. "Sesshou-chan wanted to mate with me. He hated humans and yet he loved me! He never loved anyone besides his mother. His mother and father died and now I left him too and now he's all alone!" Her tears turned into a flood and the gentle rain turned into a full-blown storm. She sobbed uncontrollably and the thunder rolled around them.

"Kagome, can you try to stop crying?" Mama asked. Kagome looked at her confused. There was no harshness in her voice, only curiosity.

"Why, Mama?" She asked. Didn't her mother want her to grieve? The rain slowed from the reprieve of distraction.

"Oh My God, Kagome your controlling the weather!" Mama exclaimed. Kagome was so startled by that her tears stopped abruptly, the rain mimicking, a bit of sun peeped from behind not so dark clouds.

"What?" Kagome said in disbelief. Controlling the weather, but how? Unless... the Shikon, now that she could control her own powers, she could also control any powers the Shikon might give her.

"Kagome, you have quite the extraordinary gift. I hope you use it carefully." Her mother smiled at her. Kagome stood up suddenly with her hand just above her heart, over the deceitful jewel.

"No Mama. It's not a gift. It's a curse. The damned Shikon No Tama." Her mother gave her a confused look. "I'm just controlling its powers." She told her mother, with as little emotion as Sesshoumaru would show. The sky was now a nondescript gray, covering the sun but with no sign of rain. Kagome walked with stiff steps toward the house, her mother following with a worried expression soon after.

Sango knelt over the body of her dead brother. Anger penetrated her very soul, and with it loss. She did not see or hear anything around her. Kouga had told her everything he could about the moment the boy died. 'He gave his life in order to save others.' She thought. 'He pried the jewel out of his back so Naraku couldn't make him kill anymore.' Her eyes filled with hated tears as she knelt there, head down to cover her face with her bangs. That damn Naraku! Every time problems always lead back to him. And now he's dead. Sango rose to her feet. 'Don't worry Kohaku, You won't have to travel the spirit world alone!' She yanked her sword from its sheath at her waist and held it above her.

"You won't go alone, Kohaku! I will join you!" With that, she plunged the weapon into her chest, turning it sideways to fit between her ribs and pierce her heart. She fell slowly to her knees as the last breath left her body and she fell forward. The blood drops from her wound descended before her.

Miroku didn't stop running until he was kneeling by her side. He had thought to leave her a moment of peace with her brother and had gone a good distance away. He looked up at her promise to her younger sibling and saw a sight that would haunt his dreams for a very long time. Her holding that deadly blade above her and thrusting it into her heart. He rolled her over to see blank eyes staring back at him.

"No!" he screamed and held the lifeless body to him. It was his fault, he should have gotten there sooner, or he shouldn't have left her alone knowing the way she felt. She was the only woman he had ever really cared about, the only one he had really loved. She couldn't be dead.

"Sango, please, I love you! Please don't be dead." He chanted the last phrase over and over as the sun set and night descended around him. Stars shone bright in a dark sky that no one would notice on this night.

_Modern Times, about ten months after Kagome returned..._

Kagome swept the shrine steps deep in thought. She had managed to gain full control of her emotions after a while and with it the weather. She could make it rain, be cloudy, or sunny, all at will now. There were many less natural disasters this year. The only time she couldn't stop them was when she slept. She couldn't control her dreams.

She felt a tug at her conscious and a cloud covered the shining sun. She stopped a moment and closed her eyes. Damn, she hated it when that happened. Their psychic connection would last even through time is what Sesshou had told her. It ripped her heart out every time. '_Never to see him again.' _She clenched her jaw and concentrated until the sun appeared from behind the disappearing clouds. She slowly relaxed and blew out a breath. A little breeze blew the rest of the dirt off the shrine steps. She walked back up and headed toward the house. She hated it when she felt him. Then again, she loved it too. It was the only connection to her past besides the lump below her breastbone and the forgotten love in her heart. She also knew that the day she couldn't feel them through their link would be horrible indeed. The only thing that would ever break their connection was death. She shook her head, hoping that day would never, ever come.

The tall black-haired man watched the beautiful woman with the wild raven hair. Nothing had changed in her countenance, except her eyes. Her blue-gray orbs held a slight tint of purple in them, but that wasn't what disturbed him. Her vibrant eyes now lacked the life and vitality they had once held. Now they were cold and empty. He had seen the change start the day she had discovered her powers. His heart constricted every time he saw her.

His manner had changed little in the last five hundred years. He was of course, much more compliant towards humans from seeing them slowly take over the world and realizing he had to live with this. It had angered him greatly but he suffered and changed with it to await the day he would see her again. He had seen many, many humans grow and die, including his beloved Rin. Kagome's friend Miroku, the monk, had lost much of his charm after the youkai exterminator had died. Little Shippou had been homeless for a half a year after Miroku died. Sesshou saved him twice before taking the pup into his castle to keep Rin company. He hadn't done it out of kindness; he just couldn't kill the little pup. Every time he tried, a certain face jumped into his memory. So he had kept the little fox-pest and now the Kitsune was the same age he had been when he exiled Inuyasha all those years ago. It still bothered him that the half-breed had followed the miko-witch to the afterlife, hell.

Jaken had died a century ago now and Sesshou missed the old toad. It had amused him to see the toad cower in fear or surprise sense he smiled easier. But Jaken was also gone now so the only thing left from that time was Shippou. He had slowly grown fond of the little kitsune that adored Kagome so.

Sesshou watched the first time Kagome had gone to the Sengoku Jidai. He had to exert more self-control than usual to stop himself from stopping her from going, knowing what she would suffer through. Then the final time when she had the completed jewel in her body. He watched her powers form and how she learned to control them. He saw and heard her toss and turn in her sleep sometimes screaming for him, sometimes apologizing to him, Inuyasha and even Kouga. He had to hide his presence so she wouldn't know he was there. But he had to see her.

When she entered the house he walked away down the road to the expensive new-model car parked there. He got in and drove until he reached his home on the outskirts of town.

Kagome awoke to the screeching of her alarm clock. She lifted her arm and hit the button to make it go off in another five minutes so she didn't fall back asleep. She sank tiredly back into her bed to try and remember her dream. Every morning she went through this routine and every time she came up with nothing. All she knew was that it left her with a hollow, desolate feeling. Every morning she woke to feel lost and alone after having dreams she guessed accurately were about the past. She jumped when her clock resumed it's loud screeching and sighed, turning it off. She took a quick shower and was dressed in fifteen minutes. Coffee and sugar coated cereal finished her awakening process before she headed for school.

As she walked down the street that weird feeling hit her again. She turned around despite the fact that she had done it hundreds of times before and there was always no one there. Except, of course, the other million people in Tokyo. She flung her hands out in annoyance and saw a tall, black-haired man watching her. Hey, she had seen him before; he was always out when she went to school in the morning. He wasn't an ugly guy, with long black hair tied back in a thong and gold tinted brown eyes. In fact, he reminded her a lot of... She shrugged the whole thing off as coincidence.

She felt something move on her hand and saw her mothers ring slip off of her finger. "Oh No!" It rolled into the dark alleyway. The ring was just about to be fitted, tomorrow actually. She worriedly ran after it as it rolled deep into the alleyway, completely unheeding of her surroundings. It never occurred to her to use her powers to bring it back, or maybe it was just fate. She caught the ring and placed it back on her finger. Now she was sure to be late for scho...

"What the hell is she doing here?" a crackly male voice reached her ears. Ut-Oh.

"Silly girl." She looked up to see a crowd of people looking malevolently at her. "Silly of you to enter here, all for that precious ring." A dark man stepped out of the shadows, an evil look about him. The rest of the group were desperate druggies who needed what that man had to give them.

Oh the luck! She just walked right into the middle of a drug deal in progress. She sighed. Well, as long as they didn't shoot at her she'd be fine. She did think of her powers this time and remained motionless. The dark-skinned leader nodded and two of the guys lunged at her. They wondered why she didn't try to run away. She let them grab her and bring her closer to their leader He used a finger to tip her face up and look her directly in the eye. She stood unflinchingly before him.

"Brave, I see, a pretty young thing too. We will see how brave you are when my boys are through." He waved a hand at them. "You can have her." They all looked at her with lust-filled grins. A few chuckled. Huh, see what they would get.

"You're supposed to ask before touching a girl." She said coldly to one of the ones holding her arm. His grin widened, and then disappeared completely. He yanked a burnt hand away from her, surprised it was red and blistering.

"What the hell!" he spat at her. The others turned to see what was wrong with their Conrad and the leader stopped and turned to regard the girl in wonder.

**I WANT REVIEWS! **I know the announcement was recent, but in all respect, if you read the fic, you must have seen the thing at the bottom that says 'Review Power.' It would have been the nice thing to do. Thanx again my ONLY reviewer, Reba. Luv ya!

Anywayz, this is my last chap then I am taking a short break because I am moving and don't know when I'll get on the Internet again. This story must be pretty bad for only one person to say anything about it. If I get more reviews I'll be sure to get right to work on the next chap, but if none are forthcoming... maybe I'll just send a copy to Reba so she?/he? doesn't have to wonder. See ya for now!

Bye! RyuuAngel, signing out!


	9. Run in with a Drug Dealer

Chapter 9: Run in with a Drug Dealer 

Sesshou watched the man who was burned hold his injured hand to him as his friend crowded around to see. He wanted to laugh at the surprised look on their faces. He waited and watched, not wanting to interfere as long as she could handle her self. Even in this human form he retained all of his demon powers. If she needed help he would be sure to give it.

Kagome decided it was about time to test her powers out a little. She waited; knowing on of the stupid idiots would try to retaliate. Soon enough another one of the druggies pulled a knife and came at her. A wind came out of nowhere and knocked the guy back. He was unprepared for it and the knife flew out of his grasp to stick in the wall above one of the guy's heads. She heard the dead sound of a gun cocking behind her. Shit, she didn't know what she could do against a gun. She turned slowly to see the dark-skinned man from the deal, the leader, with a gun in his hand pointed at her heart. Once again a presence tugged at her mind but she ignored it.

"Silly, silly. You are a miko, huh?" The man smiled at her. "You may be able to blast knives out of peoples hands and burn them, but what are you going to do about a bullet?" He raised the gun up and started to pull the trigger.

The world slowed its pace down to a rate at which moving felt like it was impossible. But when she went to move her limbs they worked at the same rate as if the rest of the world was going at a normal pace. She saw the tall, black haired man moving at a pace impossible for a human toward the man who had shot at her. The bullet slowly erupted from the gun and started traveling towards her. She shot a purple streak at the bullet watching as it enveloped the guns discharge in lavender light. Earth resumed its normal speed and Kagome shook her head and opened her eyes to see the purple light fade, leaving nothing in its wake. The Drug Dealers eyes widened.

"What the he..." His words were cut short. He dropped forward onto his front, decapitated. The handsome, raven haired man stood behind him looking sinister with blood dripping from his claws. Claws? So this man was a demon? She turned to look behind her to see the rest of the druggie shaking. When she turned around she saw then take a step back or wince.

"Don't kill me!" Before turning and running, others following his example. "Aahh!" Another yelled before the rest of them turned and scampered off, stumbling in their attempt to get away. Kagome was left in the alleyway with the strange killer. He was peering at her intently, as if waiting for something. Again Kagome felt like he was so familiar. She shut her eyes to gain control of the emotions this mans face brought forth.

"Who are you, demon?" She stared at him with all the courage she could muster. A smirk that looked alien on the familiar features appeared at her question.

"Who am I, she asks. The question is, do you recognize me after all these months?" He wanted so badly to laugh at the arrested look on her face but held it in and forced a cold emotionless look onto his face.

"I don't remember meeting a demon who looked like you in this time. Only a long while ago..." She trailed off and looked slightly sad. It made him want to take her in his arms and made him fell guilty for waiting this whole year.

"I am this time, your past and hopefully your future." He replied o her and she narrowed her eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about? Lamens terms please." She felt angry, confused, hopeful, and a jumble of other emotions. This guy, uh demon, looked very familiar, so much that her heart screamed with the pain of memories. He had a beautifully sculpted face, gold tinted brown eyes, and a body built to perfection. Her idea of perfection was lean-hipped, broad shouldered but not overly, and muscular, but again not too much.

"Lamens Terms? So you don't think I resemble anyone from your _distant_ past? About 500 years ago?" He saw her give him a sharp look.

He, no way. This couldn't be... Well, she knew one way to find out. She was afraid that this was a fluke and he was some one else she should be remembering. She cautiously reached out and touched his mind with hers, gently. She yanked back in surprise, then had happiness written all over her face.

"Is, I, You..." She tried to straighten out her words but simply could not speak. He smiled at her and all at once memories flooded her mind of the few other times he had sincerely smiled for her. "Sesshou-chan!" She flew at him and into his arms. He held her against him, content for the first time in centuries. The sky above was the bluest it had ever been. Kagome gently pulled back and searched his eyes, tears glistening in her own.

"I know, it looks strange to see me with black hair and the rest, doesn't it? Shippou had to teach me how to alter my countenance so humans would not wonder." He answered her unvoiced question.

"Shippou?" She looked at him hopefully. He gave her another one of those smiles that seemed so much easier now.

"Ah yes, the little brat. Shippou, you may come out now." He looked over at a box that wiggled a little. Then the box spoke.

"I was going to make a big entrance, Sesshoumaru!" A voice much like Shippou's whined. There was a poof! And there appeared a teenage Shippou, dressed in modern clothes. He was much taller, taller even than her by almost a foot. He smiled at her and she noticed that his fags were drawn in his mouth and his ears were rounded, not pointy. But his hair Was still red.

"Hey Kagome, what's up?" She ran to him and threw her arms around him, hugging him hard. He hugged her back tightly.

"My god, Shippou, you have grown!" She had to look up a little to look into his face. He smiled shyly.

"I know. It's been five hundred years since you last saw me. I may have changed a little." He exaggerated. She pouted at the sarcasm in his voice and slapped his arm lightly. "Besides, in this form, I am tall." Kagome guessed correctly that he had to keep this form so no one would walk in and see him in his true form.

"Why don't we take her home, Shippou? Do you think she'll like it?" He had a teasing grin on his face and Kagome flabbergasted at how easily he smiled now. She liked it; she was just... not accustomed to it. Shippou returned his teasing grin and steered Kagome closer to Sesshou and took one of Sesshou's hands and one of hers. Sesshou grabbed the other one and they formed a misshapen circle. Sesshou squeezed her hand she realized they were glowing. Shippou had his eyes closed and when he opened them they were blue.

"_Home," _He whispered. Everything around her began to shimmer and the color ran together. The physical world melted and blackness replaced it. The only feeling she had was of the two hands firmly grasping her own. Slowly the world materialized around her and her legs felt like rubber. Her whole body tingled and she let go of the two hands to rub her arms.

"I forget how your skin tingles after the first time you Cross." He gave her a sheepish grin. "Should've warned you. Sorry."

"Its okay. I'm sure I'll live." She mumbled. In a louder voice she said, "You've improved your skill greatly, Shippou. That's awesome." Shippou looked happy at her praise and Sesshou raised an eyebrow, but it wasn't like before. Now there was a seemingly permanent grin there as he watched her rub her arms. "What?" she asked but he just shook his head.

"Sesshoumaru, you never grin this much. Why donchya just spit it out?" Shippou implored.

"If you could see what she was thinking right now you'd be laughing too." Sesshou explained. Kagome blushed all the way to her hair. She had forgotten about their telepathic link. Now she knew why he was grinning at her like that. She'd thought first that she was most definitely going to miss school and she had better call her mother. Then how if Sesshou was over here rubbing her arms for her it would more than make up for it. Then her thoughts went to how much he had changed and if he'd learned anything new for her...

She turned so crimson she could have blended in with a brick wall. Sesshou only grinned wider.

"If you want, you can find out what I've learned since the last time." Sesshou's grin was infinitely seductive. She blushed again and Shippou rolled his eyes.

Give me a break, guys. I really don't want to know about my Uncle's sex life." Shippou looked so mortified that Kagome laughed.

"Your uncle?" Kagome asked when she had stopped laughing. She was a little confused about that part. Sesshou answered.

"I call him my nephew so he can go to school. His parents died and I am closest Kin. Or at least, that's what everyone's supposed to think." Kagome listened while looking around. The room they were in had a high gold ceiling and was richly decorated. There were some pieces she recognized as Art Deco. The room had a plush rug covering the floor and a big-screen TV on the far side of the room. The furniture all looked expensive and comfortable.

"Snubs!" She whispered, awestruck at the grandeur of the room. She spun on them, a look of great anger in her face and stature. "How long have you been here, hiding out, probably watching me?" Sesshou and Shippou shifted uncomfortably at the accurate accusation. "How did you get here? Why didn't you tell me until now?" She seemed exhausted with her ranting and her shoulders slumped down as she stared at the rug. "Don't you care? Don't you care that I had to suffer thinking I would never see you again? This whole year I've had to suffer while you knew perfectly well where I was." She almost wanted to cry. After all this time did Sesshou stop loving her? Her control on her emotions was the only thing that prevented her tears to flood her pained eyes. They were hollow as she tried to come to terms with the fact Sesshou might not love her anymore. She squared her shoulders and slowly turned to face Sesshou, a look of determination in his eyes. The onslaught hit her before she could get a word out. His feelings, his reasonings, but most of all his love for her whirled in her brain. She gasped at the intensity of it all and was left short of breath when it finally slowed. She looked into his pleading eyes, hoping for understanding from her. She melted at the look in them and felt horrible. Of course, there must have been a reason why he had not made his presence known to her before now.

"I'm sorry guys. I just didn't know why you would wait to get me until now. What was the reason why it took you so long?" She looked at the both of them who were looking slightly unsure of a response. She frowned. "Is there a problem?"

"Sort of. There was a prophecy that two from opposite times could not be together due to the laws of time. I was told that I must wait until the moon had waxed and waned ten times." Sesshou explained cryptically.

"By who?" Kagome asked.

"By me." A female voice startled Kagome and she turned to see the person who had entered the room. She was a hanyou!

Well... do you like it? I hope so! Next chap you get to learn about me... er, Riasha!!!!!! Aren't you excited? Now review this one people. I had a hard time with this. The reunion was impossible to write. So help me you critics out there! I need all the help you are willing to give.

RyuuAngel

Aka: Riasha


	10. Riasha and The Test

Chapter 10: Riasha and the Test 

Kagome stared at the girl who had interrupted their conversation. She was about 5'7" and had pretty purplish eyes, a lot like her own, but darker. Her hair was a honey colored blonde with lighter highlights in it. It was very straight and came just below her shoulders. She wore a modern time dress that was classy and also conservative without being over decorative. The color of the mid-thigh dress matched her medium purple eyes perfectly. She had a nice body build and was wearing strappy high-heeled sandals to complete the outfit. All in all, the girl was quite beautiful, and Kagome was overwhelmed. Riasha gave Sesshou an annoyed look for waiting so long to introduce her and she didn't like the way the girl on the couch stared at her. Sesshou noticed the annoyed look on Riasha's face and stepped forward to make the introductions.

"Kagome, this is Lady Riasha. Lady Riasha, this is Higurashi Kagome. Lady Riasha is a... friend, of mine. Kagome is my mate-to-be." He smiled at each of them in turn and Riasha's gaze narrowed just a little bit when she heard the last part. Kagome thought she noticed but dismissed it as nothing. She quickly got up off the couch.

"You'll have to excuse my rudeness but I haven't seen a demon, or hanyou, in a very long time. I was more than a little off guard." She held out her hand to be shaken but the half-demon just looked at her coldly and turned to Sesshoumaru. Kagome put down her vacant hand, feeling foolish, and blushed.

"Sesshou, you said she was a powerful miko. I don't sense any such aura around her." She gave him a piercing look, but not before giving Kagome a disdainful one. Kagome shied away from it and looked at Sesshou questionably, wondering what the hell was going on. Sesshou sent a message to her that all would be explained soon and to not worry about Riasha, she was like that with everyone. Kagome didn't know why he was lying; she could tell that this Riasha woman did not like her, period. He turned back to the obviously annoyed Riasha.

"She is powerful. The jewel gives her extra powers besides her own and make her powers and the Shikon No Tama undetectable. I'm not sure why, but it does. If you would like, you can test her powers to see for yourself." He smiled at her and then Kagome who gave him an evil look. Sesshou winked at her, but she was too mad to notice at the moment.

"Well, do you agree to this?" Riasha asked Kagome. She nodded and Sesshou led them to a dome shaped place that was very apparently meant for fighting. There were some comfortable chairs for someone who wished to watch and the diameter was approximately 200 feet wide and 300ft long. The sides were all brick wall and the floor was a hard mat. The chairs were set up above the fighting area, which is where Shippou and Sesshoumaru went. Kagome stood off to one end of the dome and Riasha was at the other end. Kagome was nervous; she didn't want to disappoint Sesshou and she didn't know what she should do. She knew how to control her powers now so that didn't worry her, but she didn't know the extent of Riasha's powers, and that did unnerve her. The woman stood across from her and was standing loosely, unmoving, with her eyes down. Kagome wondered what was going on was about to get closer and ask when she heard her voice. It carried from the other side of the dome easily, like she was used to projecting her voice.

"This will be an exclusively Ki fight. You are only allowed to use your spiritual energy in the fight. No weapons or hand-to-hand combat is allowed." Riasha raised her eyes to look at Kagome who was looking at her curiously. Her face was just as impassive as Sesshoumaru's and Kagome was caught off guard. The next thing she knew, bright purple Ki balls were being fired at her and she watched them come closer and closer. This would be easy she smiled a little and concentrated. The world slowed its fast pace to one more suitable for her own needs. She alighted the Ki ball with her own energy and it disappeared, fading in her lighter purple light. The girl across the hall from her sent another, then more of them; each one came quicker than the last. Kagome handled them all easily. She was happy with her success and watched Riasha closely; waiting for what the next thing she would throw at her. She watched her raise her arm, then throw it down sharply. About a hundred little purple streaks shot at her, all at the same time. Kagome watched as they sped closer and closer. She never moved. The one at the front of the rest was only about 15 feet away when her arm lifted, but it only lifted a little. A purple barrier formed around her and when the streaks had closed another five feet, they were repelled and shot off in all directions. One exploded the wall next to Sesshoumaru's head but he never flinched.

Riasha watched the reflection of her attack with indifference similar to Sesshoumaru's, but in reality she was seething. Now she knew why Sesshoumaru chose this human girl over her. Even with her hanyou powers to strengthen her own human miko powers, she and the girl were almost an even match. She had given the girl just about everything she had, and she had seemed to reflect or repel all of her attacks. But she still had one trick left up her sleeve. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard, chanting words that would make little sense to anyone else. She felt herself lift up into the air and opened her eyes. They were a dark purple color, no white or pupil or iris showing. She saw the girl look up at her and smile. She watched the girl's eyes turn light purple and saw her rise into the air also, coming level with her. Riasha was angry, angry that this girl barely thought about it and was doing the same thing it had taken her years to learn. And she was the fastest dragon demon to ever learn to rise into this state of power. This stupid human girl did it so easily, no chanting, no official training, nothing. Suddenly, she felt herself sinking back to the ground. The girl made a motion with her hand and a strong wind was blowing her down! Not quickly of course, because she was fighting it, but still she headed down. When she touched down on the ground the wind disappeared and with it, much of her strength. She watched the Kagome glow brightly for a second before slowly descending back to the ground.

Kagome felt very satisfied and very energized. She smiled as soon as she was safely on the ground and said, "Who's up for round two?" She looked from Riasha to the other two on the side. She knew Riasha was tired and needed a rest. Something as hard as levitating was a large strain on her because she didn't have the power of the Shikon No Tama to help her. Kagome looked to Sesshou. "Why don't I have a match against you, Sesshou? I'd like to see what kind of competition I am for you now, compared to then when all I could do was shoot arrows." She smiled at him and he shruggingly obliged. She watched as he pulled out Toukijin and stood where Riasha had been standing a moment earlier. He schooled his face into the mask of indifference she was used to seeing and cracked his knuckles.

"I'm not going to go easy on you." He smiled at her and she returned the smile.

"I sure hope not!" She returned and he rushed at her, only to come within ten feet and be blasted back by the force of her barrier. He flipped and landed on his feet to rush at her again, but was stopped earlier this time. A wind once again tore through the dome and pushed him back, flying right into the wall. He had a look of surprise on his face that she would be willing to do that to him but when he looked at her face, it was just as impassive as his was. He wanted to laugh at the way her lively features were put into a position that wasn't natural for them, at least to him. But his never-failing mask refused to allow this and instead he rose from where he had fallen after hitting the wall. He stood with that stoic look on his face and pulled out a sword she hadn't noticed until just now. It was the Tetsusaiga! How did he... He shouldn't be able to hold it! Unless...

'_You are correct.' _His voice told her silently, _'Because of you, I learned compassion for humans and therefore was able to use the Tetsusaiga. It has now accepted me.' _She thought so! Now what was he going to do with it? She saw him pick it up to swing, all in slow motion. When he brought it down she saw how the blade glowed red and realized he was going to perform the Baryuuha. (A/N: I know, I spelled it wrong. sigh I will fix it ASAP, K?) Kagome watched the immense energy barrel at her. This attack would shatter her barrier, what would she do? Kagura's face slid into her mind. Okay, now what about Kagura would help her... Oh! Of course. Kagura controlled the wind, so the attack would be useless for her. Now with the Shikon No Tama, Kagome also could control the wind. She lifted her hand and saw the way wind converged around her, the wind from the Baryuuha intermingling with it. She sent the wind back at Sesshoumaru, except with double the force because he own strength was added to it. She watched his eyes grow slightly in surprise and he unsheathed Tenseiga, holding it in front of him to act as a shield. It purified the wind the way one of she could and she watched him stand up and bow to her. She inclined her head in acceptance of his offer of a truce and they proceeded towards each other, finally discarding their masks. Kagome had a proud smile on her face and Sesshoumaru had a slight look of perplexity on his.

"I didn't know the extent of your abilities." He said with an appeased look on his face.

"Neither did I." She replied, shaking her head. He gave her a strange look but his question was asked for him.

"That was the first time you have done that?" Riasha said, trying to keep her emotions from spilling out. She wanted so badly to wrench the girl's head off for beating her so easily. It never occurred to her that she was not quite of Sesshoumaru's strength, which was quite a feat for a hanyou such as herself, but that Kagome was an equal to Sesshoumaru in ability. She didn't realize that she would have to be more powerful than the great Dog-demon himself to beat the scrawny bitch.

"That was the first time I have attained such power as to levitate since I killed Naraku." She looked from Riasha to Sesshoumaru. "And that was the first time I was able to turn someone's attack back at them." She looked contrite. "I could have seriously hurt you Sesshou-chan." She looked at him with glazed eyes. "What if you hadn't had the Tenseiga? I could have killed you!" She took a step back from him while her eyes began to tear up.

"Kagome I told you, no holding back. The attack with Tetsusaiga I hurled at you could have seriously hurt you." He said worriedly as a tear slipped down her cheek. She gave him an incrediculous look.

"What? That attack? It only would have destroyed my barrier. It wasn't strong enough to do more than that. You made sure of it." He was about to object but closed his mouth as he realized she hadn't known that through guessing, she had known that through him. "By the way, don't bother lying anymore." She said this before walking out, leaving him standing there astounded. Now she was mad at him? God, she changed pace too fast.

"Kagome, I request you wait so we may discuss this in my chambers." She stopped and whirled around.

"I have nothing to say to you at the moment." She had an expressionless face he still was not used to and watched her walk out of the Dome. Riasha came to stand next to him.

"She knows." Was all she said. Sesshou shot her a dark, questioning look.

"What do you mean?" he asked the beautiful hanyou beside him. She gave him a sideways look.

"You haven't figured it out?" She watched him shake his head slowly. "Her powers psychic powers heighten when she in such a state of concentration. She knew everything that happened between us when I fought her. She called you out to confirm it." Riasha gave him a look that was serious, without a hint of immorality. "I'm sorry Sesshou. I ruined your happiness with her. She is much more worthy of you than I." Regret shone in her eyes. As much as she hated the woman, it was only because she knew she could never have Sesshoumaru, and she tried to blame it on Kagome. But kagome held his heart long before she had ever come, and she realized it now. Though she doubted she would ever be a close friend to her, she did not hate her now. The fight between them had caused her to respect the girl and respect was something that was hard earned from Riasha. It took a lot for her to respect a person and Kagome had accomplished this in a short period of time. She felt a horrible pain in her heart as she watched Sesshou stride after his love in an attempt to explain thing to her. If the girl loved him as much as she thought he did, he would succeed. She turned away and noticed Shippou still in the stands, trying to look inconspicuous. "You heard that?" She questioned tonelessly. He nodded.

"You and Uncle Sess..." He trailed off and she nodded. He shook his head disgusted and walked to the entrance of the Dome. "I thought you cared about him, but I guess you didn't care that much if you were willing to hurt him and Kagome like that." She frowned up at him. How did the kitsune know what she had done? She never got to ask because he walked out before she could even open her mouth. Dammit! Why did this have to happen? Why did this always happen to her?

Kagome angrily wiped at the tears that cursed down her cheeks. She stopped and put a hand on the wall and the other over her rapidly beating heart. She took in a few deep calming breaths as she had learned to do before to keep from destroying the world through the hurricanes and tsunamis and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Who knew what else. She straightened up and squared her shoulders, a blank, cold look in her eyes as something told her Sesshou was coming. She continued walking with stiff steps toward the door that lead to the exit of the mansion and her pain. Sesshou called out to her and she cringed inside but her steps never faltered. She reached for the door handle but a strong hand stopped her.

"Let go of me." She said in low, dry, emotionless tones. He stared back at her but didn't let go, even when he felt his hand begin to burn.

"Burn me if you have to, but I have to tell you something first." He said in her ear, his voice just as emotionless as hers. She opened her eyes in shock at what she had just done and whirled around.

"NO! Even if you have killed me, I refuse to hurt you!" She looked up into his eyes, the only thing that ever held any emotion. He saw one tear after another run down her still stoic face. There was no emotion there, even in her beautiful eyes. Her now vacant purple tinged blue-gray eyes. His heart squeezed with the intensity of emotions, not just his, but hers too. He gripped her shoulders and still she looked up at him with nothing there.

"Don't you realize how much I died inside watching you turn from my sweet, cheerful, fun woman to a cold emotionless one? You are killing me right now just be the look you send at me. You are never happy anymore, you never are allowed to show any emotions at all because of that cursed jewel." He looked into her eyes and watched her waiting for a reaction to what he was doing.

She felt herself slowly being filled with so much pain and suffering and love she was starting to be overwhelmed. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and felt herself slowly fall to the floor, sliding right through his arms. He didn't know why and grabbed at her, trying to stop it. He failed and she slumped to the floor, sprawled out at all angles.

"Oh, god, what's wrong with her, what's going on?" He looked frantically around him and stopped to listen to her heartbeat. It was slow and getting slower every minute.

"RIASHA!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, knowing she would hear him. She was there in a matter of seconds, and leaned down next to the girl to see what the problem was without him telling her. She looked up at him in surprise.

"You'll have to give her some of your blood!" She said and unbuckled a knife hidden at her thigh. She made a cut on his wrist and did the same to hers and was pressing their wrists together before Sesshou could ask what for. She had decided that moment she would have to fix this problem she caused, she did not want to see them hurt anymore. When she had known Sesshoumaru, for the last 200 years actually, she had known him as completely unemotional. The few times she had caught him showing any kind of emotion was when he thought about Kagome, and it was always deep sadness and longing and love. When he had tried to explain about them before she guessed he had accidentally transferred his emotions to her. Being human, they had overwhelmed her and would eventually kill her. She explained that to Sesshoumaru as she held their wrist together.

"I am giving her your blood and you hers just like at a mating ceremony. It will give her your strength to be able to handle those kind of emotions." She narrowed her eyes, wondering. "How did she act when you started transferring your emotions to her?" She asked him, curious. She should have yelled and screamed for a moment and been like someone hallucinating before fainting. But she knew this girl was a lot stronger than most, and she hadn't heard anything before Sesshou yelled.

"She turned to me with same expression as before, with absolutely no emotion showing in her eyes. They were vacant, and cold. The only thing that showed she was feeling something was the tears that came down her cheeks. Then she seemed to liquefy and I couldn't hold onto her. She fell to the ground and I couldn't stop it." He told her, a minute trace of emotion showing in his golden orbs. She looked up at him confused.

"She didn't show anything? No love, pain, anything?" She couldn't believe it. No human could do that. Even Sesshoumaru couldn't have accomplished that if he was human.

"She looked so blank. She always has, ever since that day she realized the powers the Shikon gave her. She has always tried to be in control all the time to keep from making earthquakes and other natural disasters." He looked sad. "It's all because of that fucking Shikon Jewel. Now I know why Kikyou always had such a coldness and distantness about her." Riasha gave him a questioning look and he explained. "Do you remember, I told you of the priestess that dragged Inuyasha to hell? She was the one who had the Shikon No Tama before?" She nodded.

"I remember now. She shot Inuyasha to the tree and was reborn by the witch Urusue. She brought it to hell with her and it was reincarnated into Kagome." She looked up at him. "I think she is waking." Sesshou started and crawled closer to peer intently into her face while Riasha backed off. Kagome opened her eyes weakly before smiling and shutting them again, falling into a deep sleep. A crescent moon was forming on her forehead but no stripes darkened her cheeks or wrists. He looked at Riasha in question again. "The moon is you fathers symbol, the one your mate would get." She swallowed, wishing her forehead held the arch of his family. "The striped will come later after you mark her." She finished. She started up the stairs. "You should take her up to her room to sleep for a while. I would like to talk to her when she awakens." She said this over her shoulder before gliding up the stairs to disappear into her room.

Sesshoumaru gathered up the sleeping girl into his arms, glad he could hold her once again. He started up the stairs to the West wing and wondered what she would think of the moon on her forehead and the blood they now shared. He was aware of the dream she was in. It was like all the others, everyone dying around her and she ended up all alone. He opened the door to his room and set her down on the bed, studying her. He hoped she would find forgiveness in her heart for him and wondered what Riasha would speak to her about. Perhaps he would be able to find out after. He lay down next to the woman he loved, the only person he had ever really loved, and watched her deep breathing.

REVIEW this chap, tell me how I did. I worked forever on it so I hope it isn't too bad. OH this one took me 3 1/2hrs! Jeez um crow. Hope you liked. Tell me what you think! I'm gonna start the next chap now and post them both Monday (Today's the 20, Sat. the Library doesn't open again until Mon. Sorry about the wait.) So hopefully I'll have two chaps to post Monday! WOOHOO!

Tiredly,

RyuuAngel

aka: Riasha


	11. Let The Truth be Known

**Chapter 11: Let the Truth Be Known**

The wind whistled through the trees from the storm outside. Kagome stood out on the balcony of a huge mansion, Sesshoumaru's. She turned away from the horrid beauty of the lightening flashing in the sky and started into the room attached to the large balcony. She stopped when the silhouette of a tall figure appeared there and shrank back. The tall man hadn't seemed to see her and when the lightening flashed, Sesshoumaru's face was thrown into sharp relief. She almost walked to him, but remembered how mad she had been at him and stopped. She was about to start to tell him to go away when the sky brightened again, illuminating his unearthly features. She recognized the glaze in his eyes as a sign of being totally smashed and watched as he swayed back and forth to an unheard rhythm. She smelled the alcohol on his breath from her vantage only eight feet away. He never even saw her as he advanced onto the balcony to the edge and rested his lean fingers against the railing. She barely heard his whispered words as he looked down at the ocean hitting strong walls below.

"Where are you, Kagome? Why aren't you here yet? Why can't I find you?" He dropped his head low so his eyes were hidden beneath silver tresses. She wanted to rush over and tell him she was right there but something within her stopped her from doing this. She watched as he dragged his gaze from his toes to the churning waters and then back to the inside of the mansion. He dragged himself to his bed and without undressing fell into it, falling into a drunken sleep immediately. Kagome sat where she was for a long time, her mind completely blank. The moon descended slowly and was just about to disappear behind the water when she heard movement again. She turned to look and saw someone slip into the room through a partionally opened door. She wanted to shout a warning but stopped when she saw it was Riasha. She watched as the woman closed the door and closed the distance to the bed where Sesshou lay.

"Sesshoumaru?" She whispered. He rolled over, but being drunk, did not wake. Kagome saw she had on just a thin black slip-like nightie that only came to the middle of her thigh. She watched as the woman laid down beside him, propped up on one elbow, then leaned down to kiss him. He moved a little and wrapped his arm around her. Kagome couldn't make herself look away.

"You're here?" He seemed to be so happy, and almost disbelieving. The woman's lips curled into a smile.

"Yes, I'm here." She whispered back to him. She kissed him deeply and he didn't object. Tears glazed Kagome's eyes. They stopped suddenly when she heard Sesshou's next comment.

"I can't believe you're here. I've missed you so much, Kagome." She watched as Riasha frowned but then smiled again.

"Yes, it's me. I'm here." She leaned down to kiss him again. They rode passion and Kagome finally looked away. She had used him! She had used him...

The scene blackened and when light filtered through again she was in the same spot, only the sun was up above the horizon. She heard fighting and turned to see Riasha still on the bed on her knees and hands with a pleading look upon her face.

"Please, Sesshou-chan. I just love you so much. You're never going to find her." By 'her' kagome realized Riasha was referring to herself. "She could be so far in the future you may be dead by the time she is alive." Sesshoumaru was giving her a disgusted look and was dressing quickly.

"Do not call me by so familiar a title. It is not your place. You have caused me to be disloyal, and yet you still have no regrets. You are disgusting. I love Kagome and no one else. If I die with out finding her, fine. But if I do find her and have taken a new mate..." He trailed off.

"You don't care about me at all, do you? I am not good enough for the Great Lord!" She turned away with tears in her eyes. Sesshoumaru came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You are a great hanyou, and can outfight most demons. Worth has nothing to do with it. I do care about you, Ayko, but I love Kagome and promised her my heart. She still has it, wherever or whenever she is." Sesshoumaru gave her a smile, but not quite the same as the ones he had always given Kagome. 'Ayko' turned around and hugged him. He allowed it but would not return the gesture.

"I will always love you Sesshoumaru! She whispered before running out of the room, Sesshoumaru watching her flee. Kagome couldn't believe it! She did it because she loved him? Was that why she disliked her so much, because Sesshou loved her, not Riasha? Wait! Hadn't he called her Ayko...?

The darkness enveloped her again to send her off into other dreams, these ones which she would forget.

Riasha went and opened the doors out to the balcony to let the smell of the fresh ocean breeze in to help wake the girl. She opened all the large windows that were designed to make it seem like the whole side of the room was open to the outside with no wall. To shut out the sunlight and ocean breeze one would simply have to shut all the windows and draw the curtains. It was an effective way to prevent the claustrophobia that seized many demons in a crowded place. They could be there for a very long time and control the fear, but for a resting place they needed something that was more comfortable to them. If even then the phobia gripped them, they could reside on the balcony if need arose. Riasha sat down in the chair facing the bed and watched the girl slowly gain consciousness. Her eyes flickered open and she blinked trying to clear them. An onslaught of noises and smells hit her hard and she winced.

"Why is everything so loud?" She questioned to no one in particular, unknowing of Riasha's presence.

"Oh, I had forgotten about that." A voice slid into her ears. She squinted and her vision cleared as she beheld one of the people she did not want to see that moment.

"What the hell are you doing here? Where's Sesshoumaru?" She said in a voice that bespoke her anger. She remembered her dream quite well. In fact, she was absolutely certain that it wasn't a dream at all.

"Sesshou is sparring with a friend of his who stays at the castle. I told him I wanted to talk to you right off this morning." She waited for what would come next and was surprised when nothing was forthcoming. So instead she continued. "You fell faint last night because with all the emotions flying Sesshoumaru accidentally transferred his to you, and he had some of yours. Demon emotions are too strong for humans to deal with, which is what caused you to faint. You would have died." She paused now; knowing there was no way the girl didn't have a question. And sure enough, it came, even if it was delivered Sesshou-style.

"How do I still live, then?" She asked emotionlessly. She didn't want this woman to see any emotion in her, none at all.

"I made incisions on yours and Sesshoumaru's wrists and pressed them together, causing an exchange of blood. You now possess some demon blood within you and Sesshou some human blood. He will be weaker than usual for a while but it will fade as his demon blood takes it over. You are now partly demon. You will have better senses and more physical ability. And you are bonded to Sesshoumaru for life." Kagome was examining her wrists closely and could barely see a slight scar that was just about healed.

"It would have to have been a very small cut, Ayko." She said, looking at the perplexed hanyou.

"You also will heal faster now because of the blood but," She gave her a piercing look, "How did you know that name?"

"I dreamed of a time ago when you came into this very room and had a talk with Sesshoumaru." She looked meaningfully at Ayko. To her surprise, the half-demon hung her head.

"You had a dream about it? Well, since you are bonded to Sesshoumaru, I suppose you might also have his memories. Then you know what I did?" She looked up at Kagome who raised her brows and nodded. She looked back down and whispered, "I'm sorry." Kagome looked at her, decidedly undecided. "I should never have done what I did. But I was with Sesshoumaru for 200 years and watched how lonely and sad he was. I loved him and didn't think he would ever find you. I just wanted to make him happy." She looked up at her. "I am so sorry." The sincerity in her voice astounded Kagome, but then she remembered how deeply the hanyou must have felt for Sesshoumaru. Even though what she did was wrong, she had not regretted it at the time, and now it seemed she did. Kagome's heart went out to her. What if she had fallen in love with Sesshoumaru but he had never loved her?

"It's okay, Riasha. I think I understand why you did what you did." She smiled at the woman who had on such a beseeching expression. Riasha turned to look at Kagome in surprise. The girl was forgiving her? Outrageous! She was strong, beautiful, sweet, and now she was forgiving her!

"I think I now know why Sesshoumaru picked you for his mate. I will never be as worthy as you are. You are in every way worthy of Sesshoumaru. In fact, I am beginning to believe _he _is the one who is not up to standards. He has never totally forgiven me to this day." She smiled sadly at the woman in the bed. Kagome gave her a mischievous look.

"Perhaps it is I that should be thanking you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" She was wide eyed now. Perhaps the girl was crazy and that was the problem. Kagome continued.

"Number one, it seems you saved me from an untimely death." She stated.

"Yes, one that would have been caused by me!" She said in a regretful voice.

"Number two, if you hadn't done that, I would never had forgiven Sesshoumaru, not knowing what really happened." She pointed out.

"I was up here to tell you that it was my fault." Riasha retorted. Kagome smiled.

"Thirdly, you connected Sesshou to me now. We are bonded for life and you did that. That must have been a hard choice for you to make. I don't know if I could have done it." She finished. Riasha sat with a frown upon her face for a few moments that slowly smoothed out to a smile.

"You know, your right. I did form the bond between the two of you. I am the reason that things were concluded between the two of you." She smiled thankfully. "I owe you though. I would never have realized that if it weren't for you." Kagome pretended a dark look.

"Yes, well it's still your fault that I have to be connected to that tenacious, cold, overbearing, pain in the ass now." She frowned but couldn't hold it as they erupted in laughter.

Sesshoumaru watched as the demon across the dome rose to his feet from where he had just thrown him, using the power of toukijin. His face was set into a mask that he had worn whenever fighting. Totally uncaring, unheedful, absolutely no emotion played across his handsome features to keep his enemies, or sparing partners always guessing.

"What's wrong, Jax?" He said in his icily toneless voice. Jax gave him a look, and then took on a sarcastically thoughtful poise.

"I dunno." He said, sounding sincere. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I just got thrown 250 feet and crashed into a wall." He shrugged his shoulders. "Could be something like that." His eyes were alight with an internal light that refused to be put out. Sesshou was usually annoyed with demons who could not be serious, as he was, but Jax was an exception. He'd known the man for 250 years now, and had actually met him at a sparring match. Jax had been his only real opponent, causing him to almost give up his title. But Sesshou had won because the Tetsusaiga had decided to show him the power of the Baryuuha. Ever since Riasha had appeared on his doorstep one evening. Jax had been trying to catch her eye for a while now, and Sesshoumaru knew she was onto him. Perhaps now that Kagome was here and she knew there was absolutely no chance she would ever be able to have him, she would be more receptive to Jax's advances. He sure hoped so, because the idiot had completely fallen for her. Head over heels.

"Hey, kouzo, wake up, cuz here I come!" Sesshou shook his head at the man's silly way of doing things and looked to see he was right there in front of him. He easily sidestepped him but found Jax had expected that and was there, making a swing with his sword. Sesshou barely blocked it with Toukijin and managed to twist it around out of Jax's grasp.

He was astonished and found himself thrown hard to the ground, Tetsusaiga at his throat. What the hell! He had never even seen Sesshou draw the fang! He smiled engagingly at him and shook his head.

"I see that someone is slightly out of shape. Do you surrender?" Sesshou said mockingly.

"Yeah, what else am I going to do? Damn, I never even saw you draw that sword. I was right about to slice you open and somehow you managed to draw two swords at once. That miko you never stop thinking about must have energized you a little." He said waggling his brows.

"Don't make me forget you are a friend and kill you." Sesshoumaru said in a totally serious voice. Only Jax would have guessed that he was joking, anyone else would have thought he was serious. Sesshou withdrew the sword and sheathed it. He looked up knowing he would see Kagome and Riasha looking down on him. He motioned for them to come down. He watched Riasha whisper something in Kagome's ear and saw his mate giggle. They were, apparently enough, getting along okay. When they reached him he raised a brow in question.

"Seems the two of you are getting quite chummy." They exchanged looks and Kagome spoke.

"We decided to come to a truce, I guess you could say." She smiled at him before walking to him and wrapping her arms around him to give him a big kiss. She couldn't stop herself; she had waited so long and had still not got laid now that she had finally found him.

"Wow. Man, now I know why you waited for her. She is a hottie, Sesshoumaru." Jax got off the ground and brushed his clothing straight. He slipped an arm around Riasha's waist and gave her a flirtatious look. "Though nothing compares to the Lady Riasha's splendor." He stared into her deep purple eyes. She had an annoyed look on her face that would have stated, 'Get away' except for the smile that graced her features. She rolled her eyes.

"Please, now. I will most certainly turn every shade of red known if you keep on." It was very apparent that she liked the attention, denying the genuineness of her words.

Kagome finally unlocked her gaze from Sesshou's chest when she was sure she wouldn't start laughing. Riasha had told her that the man Sesshou had been fighting was a comedian and a flirt. She turned to look at him and caught a breath. He smiled at her with such intensity in his violet blue eyes she was sure he could see right through her clothes or something. He was dressed somewhat similar to Sesshoumaru, who had on his regular clothes now that he was at his own home. The main difference was the color, which was a light blue. It was patterned slightly different too, with little leaves down the arms and across the front. His hair was ebony with streaks of light blue in it that matched the color of the haori. He let go of Riasha and she reached out her hand, pulling away from Sesshoumaru's side. He took her hand and knelt on one knee to kiss it. He stood still holding her hand.

"My lady, I am Lord Jax. You are the missed and searched for Lady Kagome, eh?" She blushed and stammered her answer.

"Y, yes. That would be me. I am... very pleased to meet you Lord Jax." She tried to sound formal. He smiled warmly at her.

"I prefer to be called Jax. Lord is just too stuffy for me." He wrinkled his nose. She smiled back at him.

"Then I would like to have you call me Kagome." She wanted to be as friendly as possible. He looked horrified.

"And be subject to his wrath?" He pointed at Sesshoumaru who did his best to look bored, no matter how badly he wanted to smile. "Of course that is what I will call you, if you prefer."

"I do."

"Jax, you will be a dead demon if I ever hear such disrespect coming from your mouth to the Lady of my house." Even with the sincereness of his voice, he could not get the twinkle out of his eye.

Kagome was about to go off on him. How dare he say what someone whom she had decided to make friends with call her? She opened her mouth to retort at him but closed it abruptly when she heard Riasha's peels of laughter. She turned to look at the woman who was giving her a silly look and guffawing, trying to stop the chuckles from escaping.

"My lady, is there a problem?" Jax tried to look worried but couldn't get the silly grin off his face to complete it. Suddenly it occurred to Kagome that he was kidding around and she started to giggle. She looked Riasha in the eye and couldn't help it. They both burst into new laughter until they couldn't breathe. Jax looked on flabbergasted because he didn't know the source of their laughter but Sesshoumaru was covering his face with his hand. He couldn't wipe the grin off his face. He knew through kagome what they were laughing at and when Jax turned to look at him, only to throw up his hands.

"I don't know what is so funny here, but I know you are all in on it and I swear I will find out. Until then, I will retaliate in the best way possible." With that, he rushed forward toward the two girls who squealed and ran off. Jax caught Kagome first and tickled her a little before he got his hand fried for doing so. So then he went after Riasha, who managed to elude him for a while before allowing herself to be caught. By then Sesshoumaru had gotten he hint and had taken Kagome to his rooms. She gasped and wiggled on the ground where she was pinned by the handsome lord. He smiled evilly down on her. Riasha tried to get enough breath to talk.

"Please stop. Jax, please, I'll do anything, just stop..." She immediately regretted saying that. Though not really.

"Anything, huh? Are you ready to keep that promise?" The look in his eyes drew her in and she decided that moment she would try it.

"Jax, look, I..." She tried to explain.

"Don't." He attempted to stop her.

"No. You need to hear this. I love Sesshoumaru. I don't know if I could ever love anyone the way I love him." He stopped her with a finger across her lips.

"Would you try?" He asked.

"What?"

"Would you try to love me?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah, Yes, I will." He smiled at her, glad, so glad she would. Then, he picked her up, swinging her legs up and holding behind her knee. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What in the world are you doing, Jax?" She said smiling.

"I'm taking you to my room, to, should I say, celebrate?" The look in his eyes told her the celebration would be sweet.

"Well, let's go."

So, do you like it? Shaking with excitement over here. Is Riasha too horrible? She jus loves Sesshou. She didn't know Kagome would actually turn up. Wasn't her fault. And don't some of you major Fluffy fans get jealous of Kag sometimes? Hell, I know I do. Well, I only have one or two more chaps then, if people show an interest, I might have a sequel, with Kagura and Kanna in it. (Did you notice I left Kanna out? It wasn't on accident.) Hmmm... Ideas coming. Hope you would like a sequel, cuz there are ideas running through this dragon demon's brain.

Hey! I thought you might also like to know that in reality, Riasha/Ayko is not a hanyou, but a full-blooded youkai. But to put her in this story I decided she would fit better as a hanyou. Write me reviews to tell me what you might be thinking! I want feedback on this chap and what you think of a sequel!

RyuuAngel

Aka:Riasha


	12. Mind Games

**Chapter 12: Mind Games**

Riasha isn't a bitch! She just fell in love with Sesshoumaru and then blamed Kagome when she couldn't have him. She did the right thing in the end. She's not a bitch; she's not a bad person. I'm not a bad person, I didn't do anything bad. I'm notta bitch, am I? tear sniff ITS NOT MY FAULT!!! Not my problem...

Oh, alright, next chap. irritable I gotta cheer up now so I can write happy, juicy lemons. They'll come out dry tho cuz they always do. sigh Hey, I try. Maybe, I might change some of my thoughts here. I think I may have an idea. Riasha, Jax. HHMMMM.

We shall see! ON WITH THE FIC!

Kagome watched as Riasha evaded the demon by simply turning at last second. He was enjoying the chase and she enjoying the running. She laughed at the way she let herself be caught for a moment, tickled, then both let go and she ran again. Suddenly a strong arm wrapped itself around her waist.

"I think we should go before 'Lord' Jax gets you caught up in this too." He gave her a silly smile. She pouted as he escorted her to his rooms.

"You would think I would actually do that, no way. I've waited too long for you, Sesshou." Suddenly she hit him upside the head, hard. "Kouzo, what in the world lead you into getting so drunk? You could've gotten alcohol poisoning! Not to mention the fact that you mistook Riasha for me." He had a look on as if he wanted to explain, to tell her how sorry he was. She held up a hand to stop his speech. "You are going to try to get me to forgive you? You slept with another woman, after getting so drunk you couldn't see straight. And now you expect me to just forget it? Tell me, what caused you to drink to the point of being delirious?" She had pulled back from and now was staring at him with her new coldness.

He wished she would yell and scream. These cold uncaring words made him feel so much worse. He tried not to let the pain in him be evident but he knew she could see past it, just as he could see past hers. Her coldness just made her emotions that much more evident for him to feel. "I was up late with Jax after dinner. We had a couple of martini's and I started to talk." Kagome laughed a hollow laugh accompanied by a fake smile.

"You, talk. Ha! That's funny. What did you talk about, Sesshoumaru-sama?" She deliberately used his formal name to throw another dagger of pain at him. He began to wonder why she had been so nice when they had been in the Dome with the others and now was so angry with him. She was putting on an act of some sort while she was in there, maybe?

Kagome watched as he looked painfully at her. She knew it would work; they needed to talk about this anyway. The asshole had done something pretty stupid and deserved a little pain before she forgave him. Besides, he probably wouldn't tell her if she asked after she forgave him. Right now he was doing everything and anything to win her back. He finally started to speak, answering her question with a surprise of his own.

"I told Jax about the first time I saw you and how you somehow managed to crawl into my conscious. I told him of all the times I didn't kill you that I should have. Then I told him about the time I found you in the woods about to be killed and something overcame me that I couldn't understand at the time. I just knew I didn't want you to die, I knew I had to stop it. I also told him of the first time you used your powers and I thought I was going to lose you. I thought that pain, just from the thought of living without you, was unbearable. Then I did lose you... but I still had hope. I was going to wait until the day our times collided and became one, and then I would have you again. But I was told it was not to be. Many spiritual demons that I went to said that the day would never come because the bridge of time was too great. I did not want to believe them, and I went to a well-known psychic, Ayko. She was exiled from her lands at the time for killing a lord. To this day she has never spoken of the incident, though I have heard her having nightmares of it, calling out for help in her sleep. But that night..." She watched his eyes glaze over from the memory of said night.

"Ayko had her answer for me." He continued. "She said that unless you could be in total and complete control of your emotions, you would die after the shikon was melded with your body. She said that such a thing was impossible for any human so you would not survive. She also stated that if I didn't wait until you had the Shikon within your body drastic changes would befall the world. If I waited until after there was at least the slightest chance you might control your emotions, 10 moons would be sufficient to prove it. If you could not retain the control, the world would be thrown into chaos. That was the choice I had to make, and decided that I might make it after I had tried the traditional method, contrived by humans: drowning sorrows. And that is precisely what I did." The look he gave her was one of regret at his stupidity and happiness that she had overcome the odds. She should've died from the emotions that flooded her caused by the Shikon. But she was very much alive.

"You do realize that I am part of you now you are part of me. I am now partly demon, which destines me to this world for a much longer life span than a human. I am cursed with this jewel and other problems that may arise along the way. You are totally willing to go through all that?" She asked quietly.

"It will be nothing compared to the pain losing you for good will cause. The fact that we are bonded just makes me happier still, to be closer to you. You are the only being, human or youkai, which I have ever wanted for my own. Will you allow it? And do you still accept me?" His eyes were guarded, now more than ever. He was afraid of rejection; it was something he had gone through all of his life. Rejection after loss, loss after rejection. Pain had always clouded his life, and he had learned to close up against it. She could never cause him that kind of pain, ever again.

"Our bond makes me feel complete and so much stronger. I've always wanted to be yours, and to have you as mine. Time has no affect; past mistakes mean nothing, as long as you still love me. I am yours for the taking, and I give myself to you." She was smiling at him the way he loved, and he couldn't keep the smile that graced his features from coming. It spread across his face slowly and finally he couldn't stand it any longer and pulled her against him, claiming her mouth. She was just as sweet as always and he wrapped his arms around her tightly enough to pick her up off the ground without breaking that kiss.

The world was at a standstill for the both of them. Time was nonexistent; the passage of it went unnoticed. Kagome had, unconsciously, slowed it for the both of them, though they went at a normal speed that the human eye would not have seen if they had happened across them.

Sesshou laid her petite form carefully across the bed, not breaking the contact between the two of them. Finally he pulled back to look down at her. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing hard from the lack of oxygen. He smiled as he watched her eyes slowly open to see what he was doing but they shut again when he came down to kiss her again. He took a claw and carefully ripped down the front of the shirt she wore, cutting the bra too, loosening her full breasts. His mouth left hers to nibble lightly on the nerves behind her ears, slowly trailing down to the tops of her breasts. He pulled back the ripped shirt and she struggled out of it with his help. He enveloped her pink tip and sucked lightly. She moaned his name making him suck harder, just to hear her moan louder. He impatiently ripped through her school skirt and panties, trailing kisses down further, past her navel to the edge of her hairline. He'd have to remind her to wax when this was all over. He spread her legs and took and taste of her. She squirmed at the tingles that cursed all through her and clenched and unclenched the sheets spasmodically. Her nerve-centered spot he was currently teasing was pulsing hotly. She arched her back and felt him slid his tongue deep inside of her. Her eyes rolled back in her head at the feeling and she cried out.

He watched her buck her hips up, the feeling was overwhelming her. He flicked his tongue around, pressuring different spots and watching her reaction to find her favorite spots. She turned her head from side to side, moaning in ecstasy. He felt his full member throb, wanting to bury himself deep within her. Knowing the way she was, he stopped just as she was about to cum. He slowly lowered himself down on her and she wrapped her legs around him, giving him better vantage. He positioned himself at her opening and slowly pieced her it. He pushed in a little then pulled back, teasing her. He wasn't going to allow her or himself to enjoy this just yet. He had to pay her back for what she had done earlier, making him feel so vulnerable.

"Quit teasing." She choked out and pulled him down with an internal strength she didn't normally possess. He pulled back and pushed back in, filling her, over and over. Their strengths pooled and divided between the two and their power was equal. It added to their pleasure, each being apart of the other, being one entity. Sesshou's eyes flashed red and he pumped harder before bringing his face close to her and biting her neck, claiming her. She felt tingles replace the pain immediately and deep shivers went through her, but then their release hit her suddenly and she clamped her teeth into his neck. Trembles cursed through them as their orgasms hit them simultaneously. It rocked through them with a never-ending tempo of release, finally quieting to let them breathe. Sesshou had collapsed on top of her, he thought he was crushing her and lifted himself up. She tightened her arms around him to hold him there, not wanting him to move just yet. Instead he rolled them over and felt her clutch at him.

"Don't move." She whispered. His size had decreased now and she was content to lie there, still attached. She snuggled against him and almost promptly fell asleep. He did moments later, so happy to have her, to finally hold her again.

After many stops Jax finally pushed open the door to his room, Riasha in his arms. She used a foot to swing it shut with a resounding CLICK! Jax set her on the bed, sitting, while he went to a spot near the door. He pushed the button to the intercom system.

"Cory?" He sent his voice through it. A moment later another voice answered.

"Yes my lord?" The voice asked promptly.

"Could you send up some of your finest white wine? And some cheese?" He turned to Riasha. "What kind of cheese would you like, RiRi?"

"Any kind is fine... What did you just call me?" She was trying to give him a look of disdain. He smiled at her before turning back to the intercom.

"Send out some Swiss cheese and some sharp cheddar. That should suffice." He let go of the button and advanced toward the bed, staring at her with such a look she had never seen upon his face before. She stared back at him, entranced in his violet eyes. He sat next to her and leaned in close sending shivers from his breath on her ear.

"I know your favorite wine is white, regardless of etiquette. I know you are proud, beautiful, strong, regal, humble, gracious and forgiving. I know you love cheese, your favorite colors are purple and blue, medium in shade, and that your past is troubled. The only thing I don't know is why." He pulled back enough to look directly into her eyes. "I know that you don't trust easily but I am asking you to rust me with anything. I will put your secrets, your thoughts and your life before my own. Will you trust me, Riasha?" He looked imploringly into her dark lilac eyes. She couldn't tear her gaze from his, as much as she wanted to.

"I... don't know. I've never had anyone I could trust, who would accept me for who I am, a hanyou, not a weakling or someone to look down upon, but an equal. Am I that to you?" Her eyes searched his.

"You are that and more. You are the one I want, the only one." She swallowed, trying to decide. There had only been one other person she had told everything to, and now he was... She shut her eyes and opened them to concerned ones, preparing to speak.

"I killed a lord, this much you know. He was a man of money and power, a hidden demon lord. I was staying at his palace one evening to finalize plans between his company and my fathers. He brought me to his private quarters to talk about it and future problems. I should never have gone in there with him alone. I didn't even think about such consequences. Once he had shut the door and locked it he pounced on me. He was a full demon and therefore superior in strength. I fought it, he didn't get to do this without a few bruises, but he quickly overcame me. He tried to kiss me but I wouldn't open my mouth. It made him angry. He ripped off my clothes, enjoying every scream I uttered. I became enraged that he would dare to do this to me, my blood boiled and I refused to make any noise. He was about to take me when I lost it." Her throat closed up and she swallowed multiple times to try and dislodge the lump that had settled there. Finally after a few moments she was able to speak again.

"My blood took over my body, and I lost control. He didn't even know what hit him." She smiled dully. "One second he was holding me, about to do the thing he wanted most, that I hated most, and the next I had ripped free of him and ripped his insides out. But it didn't kill hi right off. He was weakened but not dead. He would have recovered if I had left him thee like that, but I wasn't in total control of myself. All I knew was that I wanted revenge for his attempt. I took his own swords and buried them through each of his hands, all the way to the hilt, and stuck them into the wall. I took his dagger and sliced off the thing he had tried to force within me, then I pried out one of his eyeballs, so he could only see at first glance. I made a slice from his lower abdomen to where his heart would be, but not deep enough to hit it. I pulled out all of his insides, one by one, until I reached his heart. But I left it, still beating weakly, to slit his throat instead and sat on the bed to watch him die slowly." Riasha was staring at the rug in the room now, unable to look up into his eyes. "That was how they found me the next morning. I was staring off and would not answer any questions. That time is only a daze to me, I remember little of it. I was going to be executed for it, for killing a lord is a serious offense. The Lord son, who knew his fathers ways with women, pardoned me. He had also fallen in love with me, but after the deed I had done could not admit it openly. He exiled me to a place where demons were not welcomed at the time and half-demons even more so." She brought he brows together in a frown. "I was only 300yrs old when it happened. 200 years have passed since then. I am now 500 years old. I am still young, and have lived through more than most demons, or even half demons."

"You are truly remarkable. Riasha, you have since managed to control demon emotions with a half demon mind. That is not an easy task in itself. You revenged yourself against your almost rapist, I just hope I never get on your bad side." He chuckled and she turned to him.

"You aren't bothered that it could happen again someday? I could lose control of myself and kill anyone. I might even kill you!" She looked angrily at him. Fresh pain from buried memories was shining in her features.

"I think I can handle if any such thing happens. But I don't believe you will allow yourself to change into such a state again." He objected.

"What about what I did? It was shameful and horrible. Doesn't that bother you?" A single tear leaked from the corner of her eye. "I mutilated that demon." Another tear attempted to follow the first but she blinked it back and forced herself to get control.

"That demon deserved what you did to him. What you did is exactly that, it's in your past. It's not important to me. All that matters to me is what you are now and what may happen to you. The danger of you turning demon again is something to worry about, but not to dwell upon. We will handle that one step at a time, together. Of course, if you'll let me help you." He scrutinized her eyes and she nodded. He was slowly moving closer and closer to her, about to touch her lips with his when there was a loud knock on the door.

"The wine and cheese you asked for, Lord Jax." Cory reported.

"Come in!" Jax answered, standing. The servant opened the door and entered, pushing a tray before him. It had a large bottle of the very best white wine in Japan. Next to it was two plates full of cheese. Riasha's mouth watered. She loved cheese and wine only added to it. Jax took the cups, dismissing Cory, and filled them about half way full with wine. Then he took one of the plates and headed towards the bed, offering Riasha a piece of cheese after giving her one of the glasses of wine. She took one of the pieces of Cheddar and nibbled at it, sipping at her wine. He sat down next to her and took a large swig of his cup of wine, making half of it vanish. She smiled and he gave her a funny smile before setting down his cup. She waited until he had turned back to her then swallowed the rest of her wine in one big gulp. He shook his head, an awed smile stuck on his face, as much as he tried to wipe it off. She gave him the empty wine glass and he set it on the tray with his glass.

"Jax?" His eyes settled on her dark ones.

"Hmm?" He gave her a questioning look. Instead of answering she patted the bed beside her seductively. His smile reflected how he felt and he sat next to her, placing a hand on her muscular thigh. She wrapped her arms around his neck and met him in a passionate kiss. She swung around to straddle his lap and pushed her round ass into his erection. His breath caught and he returned the pressure with an upward thrusting of his own. Their tongues twisted and twined in an intricate battle for supremacy. Flipping them around, so she was on the bed, his tongue won the battle because of her hesitation caused by surprise. He teased the inside of her mouth while pushing his hips into hers. She moaned into the kiss, which only drove his flurry higher.

Suddenly, she flipped them back over and stood up. She unzipped the back of her strappy dress and let it fall to the floor, followed by her lacey bra and matching underwear. His eyes drunk in her nude body and another wave of heat hit him hard. She came to him, golden hair swirling about her. She undid the top of his pants and slid them off. He was hard pressed to not throw her down and take her. She's mine now, My dear Golden Angel; he thought amidst his foggy brains other activity. He reached for her in a haze of wanting and needing. She complied, recognizing her own feelings, which matched his. She crawled over the bed between his legs and brought her mouth down hard on his. He ran his fingers through her hair, so silky and soft. She trailed kissed down his body, lower and lower, until his hard cock brushed her cheek. She ran he tongue over its head and he growled. She smiled before taking him in her mouth, sucking hard. This earned outright moans and she ran her lips up and down, sucking hard. He trembled and she did it faster, and then faster. He thought he would drown when he finally came. She swallowed the hot semen, over and over, until he was spent. She sat back on her knees.

"So, what did you think of that?" She asked slyly.

"You know damn well what I thought of it. It was awesome Riasha, you're awesome." She blushed and he couldn't help but think how absolutely stunning she was. He felt himself rise again and pushed himself up to kiss her. She began to kiss him back but he pulled back. She looked up at him curious as to what was going on. He ran a single finger from her ear over her breast and down to her navel, making her shiver, a completely serious look on his strong features.

"No, not this time. It's my turn to please you this time."

How was that? I think that was the longest chap I have ever written. I do love to write, hope there are some reviews on it... otherwise there will only be one more chap then I am done. J/K HEE HEE HEE. The next chaps the last one then I'm going to check out my reviews, take a short break, and get ready to write the sequel. Maybe. ï We shall see, my readers! Write reviews for this dragon demon to read! That way she'll write the sequel!

RyuuAngel

Aka: Riasha


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Future Problems**

WARNING There will be a song later on in this chapter. If you don't like songs in fics then don't read the last chap and you won't have to know what happened. If you do like them and plan to read this, if you own the Evanescence CDand have on it the song Hello it would be great to put it on while you read the second half of this chap. If not, just read the words to it.

Kagome strolled down the hall from Sesshoumaru's room towards the dining room. She didn't know what to tell her mother and Ji-chan. She wanted to stay here with Sesshoumaru, to be with him, no matter what. Her sure, if tired strides lead her steadily closer to her destination. She knew Sesshou didn't want her to leave and knew in her heart that she couldn't even if she wanted to. It helped now that she was friends with Riasha, not being stared at with an amount of disdain. She winced as she felt muscles pull from nocturnal activity that she was unused to. That brought her thoughts to those activities and she smiled. He was the same as always, but it still felt like a new experience to her. She didn't think she would ever tire of him. Last night was a good example. She pulled herself together, not wanting anyone to know how much she hurt as she approached the dining room entrance. She blushed as Riasha gave her a knowing look and sat down next to her to fill her in. God it was nice to have someone she could talk to about everything. She sighed contentedly and listened as Riasha rehashed her whole experience with the striking lord who was watching her from across the room.

"What do you think they're talking about, Sesshoumaru?" Jax leaned over and asked the cold taiyoukai. He was watching the two closely, observing every move, every smile. Sesshoumaru leaned in confidentially.

"I believe they are talking about their night and how it went. They are trying to see who got the better 'lovin' last night." Jax frowned and realized he was reading Kagome and was taking this information from her. He didn't know how he felt about that. He hoped his hanyou lover wasn't one to 'kiss and tell'. He wasn't sure he'd like that. Then he thought about something as he watched them throw their heads back and laugh. If she was telling Kagome all the things she had told him they most certainly wouldn't be laughing right now. He felt less disconcerted now with that thought and settled back in his chair to watch the two conversing women.

Sesshoumaru glanced from the lord seated next to him and the beauty across the room, his mate. Light crimson lines were slowly forming across her cheeks and wrists. He smiled a small smile of satisfaction to see her bearing his marks. It made a possessive cord inside of him thrum and he wanted more than anything to be next to her right now. As if reading his mind, she tugged Riasha to her feet and her eyes locked onto his as she made her way over to him. His eyes slid over her flaring curves and he watched entranced by the swing of her hips and she came closer. Tightness restricted his chest and a wanting deep inside of him flared up.

Kagome smiled as she watched the desire glaze his eyes just from watching her. She blushed lightly and settled herself into his lap, intent on making him want her. It didn't take much.

"I need to call my mother and tell her what happened. It's been two days and she's probably worried sick. Where do you have a phone in here?" She asked in a low voice. He breathed deeply a few times before answering. Still his voice was slightly hoarse and breathy.

"Down behind the Kitchens. It's the only phone in the whole house. I try not to have much to do with things like that. I only use thing I believe are necessary, like the intercom system." She smiled, making his gut clench.

"What about the flat-screen TV and the 5,000 dollar computer in the living room?" She asked with a slight bit of sarcasm in her voice.

"Shippou." He growled out as she wiggled a little to get more comfortable. She gave him a chaste kiss before moving slowly off of him and sauntering towards the kitchens to find the telephone. He watched her go with a sigh. This made him think of the saying he had seen on a T-shirt once. 'I hate to see her leave, but I love to watch her go.' He saw where they were coming from. Just watching her made him throb with wanting and the need to take her up to his private rooms haunted him. He paid no heed to the couple that were whispering and looking at him with silly grins. He had no shame in the fact that he was displeased to see her go, any male would be. He sighed again, trying to block out the giggle he heard from a female voice.

Riasha watched him, her smile radiant. He was so far gone; he wouldn't know what to do if he lost her again. That thought sobered her amusement. She had almost caused him that exact predicament. She looked over at the lord she was sitting by and another, slightly different smile lighted he face. He was so... She didn't know what he was. She was falling for him and she knew it. Brilliant, beautiful, exquisite, caring, he filled her thoughts. She could feel her hurt from Sesshoumaru fading and a new feeling, she wasn't sure what it was yet, blossoming. She stared entranced in his violet blue eyes as he smiled at her, turning her insides to jello. She was trying to catch her breath from his penetrating look when she felt something very wrong. She frowned in concentration as the wrongness assaulted her senses.

"Riasha, what the matter?" Jax looked anxiously into her eyes. Her brows were knit worry as she attempted to figure just that out.

"I'm not sure. Something bad is going to happen, I don't know what it is. Something that has to do with all of us, especially Sesshoumaru and Kagome." Yeah, that felt right. But what was it that was bothering her?

_Playground school bell rings again/Rain clouds come to play again_

Just then an ashen-faced miko walked into view from where she had been placing her call.

"Guys, there's a problem." Kagome's voice had taken on that flat tone again. Sesshoumaru rushed to her and grabbed a hold of her shoulders, as Riasha and Jax were there the next instant.

"What wrong, Kagome?" Sesshoumaru asked, not thinking, not wanting really to know.

"Are they coming after you?" Riasha asked. Both of the lords gave her an insane look until Kagome answered.

"There are people who found out where we are." She looked up at Sesshoumaru. "The drug deal that we busted is looking for revenge, and they intend to get it." She turned her head to look square at Riasha. "They searched through my house while Mama was out shopping. My brother, Souta was home playing video games when it happened. God..." Her voice finally cracked as the realization totally sank in. "They killed him." Daggers of ice and pain laced her voice as she informed them of the tragedy. "They are coming here and think that we will be next. We will be ready for them." She took in a deep breath as the pain seared its way through her. Sesshoumaru tried to pull her close but his gesture was stopped when she glared at him before turning and walking towards the flight of stairs leading to the West wing.

"I will need some sort of protection and weapons, if you would be so kind." Sesshoumaru hated the way her voice sounded as she said things alien to her bright spirit.

"Of course." He followed her up to the armory and watched as she picked out a bow and a sword that fit her hand just right. He had planned to give these to her at their mating ceremony and told her so. She made no comment as she fit the sheath of the sword around her waist and strapped the bow and carrier for he arrows to her back. She took the special metal plate he offered her and put those on too. Her arms were now covered, as was her chest and upper thighs. The lightweight material seemed to weigh nothing at all compared to the anger that cursed through her veins and made her blood boil. She turned to him and he admired the way the armor accented her curves.

"What do you think? Will they be able to get in here?" She adjusted the armor that covered the back of her wrist, making it fit right and tight.

"If we allow them. We should have them come in here so they are without help." She looked up from her adjusting to shoot him a questioning look. "Their radar and whatever other gadgets will not work in here. Walkie-talkies are of no use in this castle. We can put up a barrier to keep anyone else from arriving." She nodded, assenting to his plan. His eyes narrowed at the way she was acting like this was her show and he was just a part of it. Before he could utter a word she pierced his eyes with her own.

"The bastards killed my little brother. I will make them pay, they will know it was me who they messed with, and they will regret it." She turned on her heel and glided down the stairs to join Riasha and Jax, who had gotten prepared in a matter of seconds.

_Has no one told you she's not breathing?/Hello I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to/Hello_

He watched her go with a tinge of sadness in his eyes. This Kagome was a lot different from the Kagome he had fallen in love with. He still loved this one, but he hoped she would not last. Her distantness, lack of emotions, the horrible way her eyes seemed like bluish, purplish ice. He straightened out to his usual mask and descended the stairs not far behind her, easily catching up to her. Riasha and Jax both were hardened and ready to fight. Their fronts were partially thrown when Kagome walked up to them.

"You will not be needed. I will be the one to avenge my brother. You may watch and wait if you would like." She turned away to head down the hallway towards the front doors.

"I don't think so. We will be there too, Kagome, we want to help." Riasha grabbed her arm and spun her to face her. Kagome snarled angrily, ripping her arm out of Riasha's grasp.

"I am the lady of this house and I order you to leave me to this. You will not participate in this fight. Do you understand?" Her voice thundered through the large hallway and echoed over and over. Riasha gasped at the cold anger in her voice and took a step back. Never had she been frightened of anyone, not since that day...

"Kagome?" She questioned.

"I said, do you understand me?" Her eyes had become almost feral. The demon blood in her fought for supremacy, but could not outdo her iron will. Riasha cast her eyes down and nodded her head before going and starting angrily up the stairs, Jax in hot pursuit.

The authority she was showing this moment shocked Sesshoumaru. It surprised him the way she had increased the intensity of her voice to the point it sounded loud. Her manner had actually sent a slice of fear running through him. He watched coolly as she turned and headed out for the doors once again, calling over her shoulder as she went.

"They are here." She stood outside the doorway to watch as they scaled the fences that were there for no purpose really. She detected the barrier as it resealed itself after some thirty men had scrambled over.

_If I smile and don't believe/Soon I know I'll wake from this dream_

She laughed as she watched them aim their guns at her when they spotted her. The bullets bounced off of the barrier around her as she swung her bow down to notch an arrow in it and watched it fly into a man's chest, glowing as it ate away at his human flesh. Another was flying and hit a man in his arm, disabling it. She would make these murderers pay for what they did. They would regret ever even seeing her. A burst of laughter touched some of their ears as she drew her sword, dropping the bow and pulling the quiver of arrows off her shoulders. She rushed forward at an indescribably fast pace and had sliced off limbs before any of them saw her again. She turned to face them, as the few who still had not been attacked by her tried to escape. She cut them off and they stopped short to have her appear in front of them.

"Going somewhere? This was just beginning to be fun!" She grinned as their expressions turned from fear to horror. A thunderbolt hit the ground not far behind her and she smiled wider, almost seductively. She pointed at one of them and watched as a lightening bolt erupted from the sky and the man was gone in the flash of an instant. Scorched grass was the only indication of anything ever being there. One of the other men grabbed his gun but found it was blown out of his hand and watched as it flew straight into hers. She grabbed it and held it close to her face, inspecting it.

"What kind of gun is this?" She asked the man closest to her. He seemed to have trouble answering her and she turned to look at him. "Well?" He gulped and tried to stutter an answer.

"It's a... uh, 44 magnum, P, Pistol." He closed his eyes when she walked closer and touched his cheek, burning it a little. He winced and pulled away from her. She smiled and held it at his neck.

"Is it? Am I correct to say that it is fatal to shoot you right here with this gun?" She touched the cold barrel to his flesh and watched a shiver of fear pass through him and he nodded. She shook her head and pulled the gun back before tossing it towards the ocean. She drew her sword and with two quick strokes lopped off both of his arms. He cried out and fell over.

Don't try to fix me I'm not broken/Hello I'm the lie living for you so you can hide/Don't cry

She watched the blood run down his body as he fell. She could smell the staunchness and wrinkled her now delicate nose. Her new, pointed ears picked up the sound of footsteps, more of them. By the number of feet, ten more. She stood totally still while she felt out their moves, waiting. She heard the bullet whistle through the air and sidestepped it, turning and rushing forward. With her Katana she cut off ones head and another's arms, then slicing a few down the center. She stopped before the last two, ignoring their whimpers and shaking.

"You just keep coming." She shook her head, emitting a low laughter. It unnerved them even more, but they found themselves immobile as she walked closer and closer, stopping in front of one. She brushed one hand down the side of his face, loving the way he shut his eyes in fear. She breathed in his ear and brought her face back to his, watching as his eyes turned from fear to wonder, then back again. She leaned in close, so close, his eyes stayed open this time. He wasn't sure what she was doing, but if it kept him alive he didn't care. She touched her lips against his lightly, watching as he began to want her. Her lips brushed his as she spoke.

"You're the one who killed a sweet innocent child. Did he scream, or call for his mother, or maybe even me? Tell me, did he scream?" She reached her hand forward to the front of his pants and grabbed the bulge there, squeezing gently. He moaned and breathed a yes. She turned to his neck and kissed his pulse, using her tongue, making him shudder. She stopped and breathed into his ear.

"Who did he scream for? What did he say before you killed him?" She stroked his erection and pressed her body against his. He sucked in a breath.

"He called for his mother. Then sometimes he asked for someone named Kagome. He said it was his sister." He managed to choke out hoarsely. She grabbed his balls in a hard grip, not gentle anymore. He cried out in pain when she took her sword and ran it through his stomach, his eyes wide. In his last dying moments she whispered softly in his ear.

"I am his sister, you asshole. Have a nice time in hell." She looked up to see the last man staring at her, terrified, frozen to the spot. She gave him a nice smile as she sauntered over, then pulled back and hit him on the side of his head, laying him out. She leaned down and felt his pulse on his neck, still there.

"Good," she said smugly as she hoisted the man over her shoulder like a puppet and carrying him towards the castle, where Sesshoumaru watched.

Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping/Hello I'm still here/All that's left of yesterday

She dumped the unconscious man at Sesshoumaru's feet. He eyed her, the blood spattered on her, this thing that was not his Kagome.

"Lock him in a room he will not escape out of. I have some questions for him. By the way, we will have to be leaving soon; it would be helpful if you could inform Lady Riasha and Lord Jax. I will explain later, after I have cleaned up." She brushed past him, leaving him wondering, pondering, hating and sad; a still form at his feet. He easily picked it up and started into his mansion, trying to understand this mysterious change in his mate.

WOW!! I just finished this story!! YAY! Now I'm just going to wait and see what happens with reviews and get ready to write the sequel. You may not have understood how the song fit into the story right there. I happen to think a slower type song does well for fighting parts, for those of you who don't have the CD. Also, my translation of the song is someone acting not quite like themselves and hiding under a false mask. The last part is her slowly coming back to herself, which you will see more of in the next story. That is, if I get enough reviews. No reviews, No sequel. By the way, the song Whisper (by Evanescence) will be in the sequel, right in the first or second chap. So be ready for it!!

RyuuAngel

Aka: Riasha

NOTE::: HELLO! I just remembered that I wanted tp upload thios story and the sequel onto this site. Its on other sites, with the third part started, but my lack of time has caused me to put off adding to it for a little while. But the trilogy will be finished, never fear.

I actually wrote this story quite a while ago, over a year ago I think. or maybe it was exactly a year ago that I started it. I'm not sure. Anyway, please continue to read Part two to the Trilogy, called Power II: Running. and you can ignore over half of my previous notes, please. Sorry about that.

For you people who like Angsty stories, I will be uploading The Corrupted ASAP as well. And any fluff fans might like to read Just A Moment when it too is uploaded. Watch out for those, coming soon!

RyuuAngel

aka: Riasha


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